v^ 


^ 


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^ 


■^^ 


33 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

Theol-agical   Seminary, 

p'rINCETON,    N.J. 

BV  4253  .S3  S8  1812   v. 6 
Saurin,  Jacques,  1677-1730. 
Sermons  translated  from  the 
original  French  of  the  late 


)i 


\ 


V      i 


^      'N 


•-   >s 


SERMONS 


TRANSLATED  FROM  THE  ORIGINAL  FRENCH 


OF 


THE   LATE   REV.   JAMES  SAURIN, 


PASTOR  OF  THE  FRENCH  CHURCH  AT  THE  HAGUE»  1 

i 


BY  HENRY  HUNTER,  D.  D. 


VOLUME  VL 
ON  SACRAMENTAL  OCCASIONS. 


THE  FIFTH  EDITION. 


LONDON: 

Printed  by  R.  Edwards,  Crane  Court,  Fleet  Street, 

FOR    W.    BAYNES,   54,    PATERNOSTER   ROW. 


1812. 


PREFACE. 


THE  name  of  Saurin,  as  a  Preacher  and 
a  Scripture-Critic,  is  so  well  known,  and  so 
highly  respected,  as  to  render  any  panegyric 
or  recommendation  of  mine  altogether  unne- 
cessary. His  great  work  entitled,  Discourses 
Historical,  Critical,  Theological  and  Moral,  on 
the  most  memorable  Events  recorded  in  the  Old 
and  New  1  estaments,  is  in  the  hands  of  almost 
every  Protestant  divine  who  understands  the 
French  language.  Of  this  the  first  volume  only 
has  been  given  to  the  English  public,  by  a  re- 
spectable layman,  John  Chamberlayne,  Esquire, 
of  the  City  of  Westminster,  presently  after  the 
publication  of  the  original  at  the  Hague,  in 
\Ttj.  Unhappily  for  the  world  Mr  Sauriw 
did  not  live  to  accomplish  that  arduous  un- 
dertaking; his  valuable  labours  being  inter- 
rupted by  the  stroke  of  death,  before  he  bad 
quite  finished  the  Sixth  Disccurse  of  Vol.  III. 
which   contains  the  period   of    Solomon's   piety 

and 


u  PfiTEFACE- 

and  prosperity.  The  work  was,  however, 
very  creditably  continued  and  completed  by 
Messrs  Roques  and  De  Beausobre.  A  repub- 
lication of  Mr  Chamberlayne's  volume,  and  a 
translation  of  the  other  five,  would  be  an  im- 
portant and,  no  doubt,  an  acceptable  addition 
to  English  literature. 

The  late  Reverend  Robert  Robinsois^,  of 
Cambridge,  has  given  a  very  good  translation 
of  five  volumes  of  the  Sermons  of  Saurin, 
selected  from  twelve,  of  which  the  original 
consists ;  to  these  he  has  prefixed  Memoirs  of 
the  Reformation  in  France,  an^  pf  Saurin's 
Life.  This  work  has  been  so  w'qU  received  all 
over  Great  Britain,  that  a  third  large  impres- 
sion of  it  is  already  neairly  exhausted :  a  strik- 
ing proof,  surely,  of  the  author's  extraordi- 
nary merit  as  a  Christian  orator,  especially  if 
it  be  considered  that  this  approbation  is  ex- 
pressed in  an  age  and  a  country  daily  enriched 
with  original  displays  of  pulpit  eloquence,  and 
whose  taste  is  rendered  fastidious  by  profusion 
and  variety  of  excellence, 

Put  the  Public,  it  w^ould  appear,  is  still  dis- 
posed  to  receive  more  of  Mr  Sa urine's  Ser- 
mons, for  I  have  been  frequently  and  impor- 
tunately colici  ted    to  undertake  the    translation 

of 


PREFACE.  m 

of  what  remains :  a  request  with  which,  I  ac- 
knowledge, I  felt  no  great  reluctance  to  com- 
ply; feeing  thoroughly  convinced  that  no  com=» 
positions  of  the  kind  are  more  calculated  to  be 
useful  to  mankind.  By  the  reception  given  to 
this  volume,  I  shall  be  enabled  to  determine 
whether  it  is  proper  to  desist,  or  to  go  on. 

The  attentive  Reader  will  readily  perceive 
that  I  have  made  the  arrangement  of  the  sub- 
jects part  of  my  study.  When  I  found  any  of 
the  links  of  my  chain  anticipated  by  my  re- 
spectable predecessor  in  the  works  of  translation, 
I  refer  to  it,  that  those  who  choose  to  read  in  a 
series  may  be  saved  the  trouble  of  tracing  it 
from  volume  to  volume. 

As  the  originals  are    much  longer   than  the 
generality  of  modern  Sermons,  and  as  I  suppose 
these  may  probably  be  adopted   by  families  as 
prat  of   their  serious  domestic  reading,   I  Have 
taken  the  liberty  to  divide   most  of  them  into 
two,  and   some  into  three  parts,  in  the  view  of 
relieving  the  exertion  of  the  person  who  reads, 
and  the  attention  of  the  hearers:    introducino- 
nothing  of  my  own,  except   sometimes  a    few- 
lines  of  recapitulation,  where  it  seemed  neces- 
sary 


iv  P  R  E  F  A  C  i:. 

sary  to  connect  the  several  members  of  the  sub- 
ject. 

To  one  advantage  only  over  my  predecessor 
do  I  presume  to  lay  claim,  congeniality  of  senti- 
ment with  my  Author,  on  certain  points  of  rfco- 
irine,  of  rites  and  ceremonies,  of  chtirck  discip^ 
line,  and  some  others,  in  which  Mr  Robinson 
differs  from  him.  There  must  be  many  passa- 
ges, accordingly,  which  he  disapproved  while  he 
translated  ;  and  some  Sermons  he  probably 
omitted  altogether,  because  they  coincided  not 
with  his  religious  belief.  Under  this  disadvantage 
I  did  not  labour  in  executing  my  task  ;  as  I 
agree  in  almost  every  point  wdth  my  great  Ori- 
ginal, and  possibly  translated  with  peculiar  satis- 
faction what  Mr  Robinson  had  reluctantly,  or 
saw  it  his  duty  entirely  to  leave  out.  His  Read- 
ers and  mine  will,  undoubtedly,  exercise  the 
same  right  of  private  judgment,  and,  I  trust, 
practise  the  same  candour  and  forbearance  which 
he  and  I  thought  ourselves  obliged  by  precept 
and  by  example  to  recommend. 


Bethnal'Green  Roadj^  H.  H. 

9AthJune  1796. 


CONTENTS 

OF   THE 

SIXTH    VOLUME. 


SERMON  I. 

The  Song  of  Simeon. 

Luke  ii.  25—30. 

Pagel 
SERMON  II. 

Christ's  Valedictory  Address  to  his  Disciples. 
John  xiv.  xv.  xvi. 

PART  IL 

Christ's  Valedictory  Address  to  his  Disciples. 


John  xiv.  1.  8tc, 

SERMON  III. 

Christ's  Sacerdotal  Prayer. 

John  xvii. 

PART  II. 

Christ's  Sacerdotal  Prayer, 

John  xvii.  18—21. 


45 


59 


vi  CONTENTS, 

SERMON  IV. 
The  Grucifixion. 
Matthew  xxvii.  45 — 53^ 

PART  II, 

The  Crucifixion. 
''  Matthew  xxvii.  45— 53» 


93   ^ 


109 


SERMON  Ve 
Obscure  Faith  ; 

Or,  the  Blessedness  of  beUeving  without  hav- 
ing seen. 

John  xx.  29. 

PART  II. 

Obscure  Faith ; 

Or,  the   Blessedness  of  believing  without  hav- 
ing seen. 

John  xx.  29. 

SERMON  VI. 

The  Believer  exalted  together  with  Jesus  Christ. 

Ephesians  ii.  4,  5,  6. 

155 
PART  II. 

The  Christian  a  Partaker  in   the  Exaltation  of 
Jesus  Christ. 

Ephesians  ii.  4,  5,  6. 

173 
SERMON 


CONTENTS.  m 

SERMON  Vn. 
For  a  Communion  Sabbath. 
Malachi  i.  6,  7- 


PART  II, 

For  a  Communion  Sabbath. 
Malachi  i.  6,  7- 

SERMON  Via 

The  Rapture  of  St  Paul. 
2  Cor.  xii.  2,  3,  4« 

PART  n. 
The  Rapture  of  St  Paul. 
2  Cor.  xii.  2,  3,  4. 

PART  III. 
The  Rapture  of  St  Paul. 
2  Cor,  xii.  2,  3,  4- 

SERMON  IX. 
On  Numbering  our  Days* 

PSAXM  XC.  12, 


191 


20$ 


327 


239 


255 


26S 


viii  CONTENTS, 

PART  11. 
On  Numbering  our  Days. 
Psalm  xc.  12. 

SERMON  X. 

The  true  Glory  of  the  Christian. 

Galatians  vi.  14. 

PART  II. 

The  true  Glory  of  the  Christian. 

Galatians  vi.  14. 


283 


297 


311 


SERMON  XI. 

On  the  Fear  of  Death. 

Hebrews  ii.  14,  15. 

327 

PART  II. 

On  the  Fear  of  Death. 

Hebrews  ii.  14,  15. 
PART  III. 

337 

On  the  Fear  of  Death. 

Hebrews  ii,  14,  15, 

349 


*i,T,HSOLO'Q 


SERMON  1. 

The  Song  of  Simeon  *. 

i—ii|Wlllnwiii  

Luke  ii.  25 — 30. 

And  behold  there  was  a  man  in  Jerusalem,  whose  naxne 
was  Simeon  ;  and  the  same  man  luasjust  and  devout^ 
waiting  for  the  consolation  of  Israel :  and  the  Holy 
Ghost  was  upon  him.  And  it  was  revealed  to  him  by 
the  Holy  Ghost,  that  he  should  not  see  death,  before  he 
had  seen  the  Lord's  Christ,  And  he  came  by  the  spirit 
into  the  temple :  and  when  the  parents  brought  in  the 
child  Jesus,  to  do  for  him  after  the  custom  o/'  the  law  ; 
then  he  took  him  up  in  his  arms,  and  blessed  God,'a?id 
said,  Lord,  now  lettest  thou  thy  servant  depart  in 
peace,  according  to  thy  word :  for  mine  eyes  have 
seen  thy  salvation, 

'\TOW  let  me  die,  since  I  have  seen  thy  face,  because 
thou  art  yet  alive.  Gen.  xlvi.  30.  This  was  the 
exclamation  of  an  affectionate  father ;  might  I  not 
have  said,  of  a  weakly  affectionate  father,  on  a  me- 
morable occasion  in  his  life.  If  such  an  emotion 
savours  not  of  heroism,  it  is  at  least  an  effusion  of 
nature.     Joseph  had  been  the  centre    of  a  fond    pa- 

*  If  the  Reader  wishes  to  peruse  Saurin's  Sermons  as  origi- 
lally  arranged,  that  on  the  Birth  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  third  of  Vol. 
H.  of  Mr  Robinson's  Selection,  immediatdy  precedes  this  on  the 
cong  of  Simeon. 

VOL,  VI, «  B  renf'3 


2  The  S(/ng  of  Simeon. 

rent's  tenderest  aflections.  Jacob  had  for  more  than 
twenty  years  been  impressed  with  the  belief  that 
this  dearly  beloved  son  was  devoured  by  an  evil  beast. 
He  displayed  every  token  of  affliction  that  could  be 
expressed  by  the  paternal  heart,  on  the  loss  of  a 
child,  a  darling  child,  thus  cruelly  torn  from  him. 
After  so  many  years  of  mourning,  he  is  informed 
that  his  son  is  yet  alive,  that  he  is  exalted  to  the 
most  eminent  state  of  power  and  splendour  which  the 
King  of  Egypt  could  bestow  ;  that  he  had  sent  to 
bring  his  father  down  to  him.  Every  instant  now 
appears  an  age  to  the  good  old  man,  till  the  period 
of  their  re-union  arrives.  Every  thing  that  retards 
the  accomplishment  of  his  wishes  seems  to  defeat  it. 
He  trembles  to  think  on  the  length  of  the  way,  on 
the  dangers  of  such  a  journey,  on  his  own  debili- 
tated frame.  He  departs  at  length,  he  reaches  the 
desired  haven ;  he  beholds  Vvith  his  eyes  the  endear- 
ed object  of  so  many  earnest  prayers.  He  feels 
himself  in  the  embrace  of  his  Joseph,  he  feels  his  vi- 
sage bedewed  with  the  tears  of  filial  love.  Joy  de- 
prives him  of  the  powers  of  utterance,  and  with 
difficulty  the  faultering  tongue  can  pronounce  the 
words  which  Moses,  if  I  may  be  allowed  the  ex- 
pression, seems  to  have  derived  from  the  bowels  of  pa- 
ternal tenderness  :  "Now  let  me  die,  since  I  have  seen 
thy  face,  because  thou  art  yet  alive.  " 

A  greater  than  Jacob,  rnxV  brethren,  or  rather  a 
greater  than  Joseph,  is  here.  Simeon  had  received 
from  God  the  assurance  of  having  his  life  prolonged, 
till  his  eyes  should  see  the  promised  Messiah.  On 
the  accomplishment  of  that  promise  depended  the 
solution  of  these  anxious  inquiries,  so  interesting  to 
the  wretched  posterity  of  Adam  : — Is  there  any  mi- 
tigation to  be  expected  of  that  fatal  denunciation, 
Ln  the  day  thou  eatest  of  the  fruit  of  the  tree  of  good  and 
evil,  thou  shalt  surely  die.  Gen.  ii.  17. — Did  so  many 
oracles,  which  announce  a  Eedeemer,  proceed  from 
God,  or   from  men  ? — Is  it  Bossible  that   the   love  of 

Cod 


The  Song  of  Simeon.  S 

God  should  rise  so  high,  as  to  immolate  his  own  Son 
in  the  room  of  the  guilty  ? — In  a  word,  Is  the  ex- 
pectation  of  Israel  well-founded,  or  is  it  chimerical  ? 
The  promise  is  at  last  fulfilled:  that  divine  Infant 
at  last  appears,  whom  God  had  prepared  before  the 
face  of  alt  people,  a  light  to  lighten  the  Gentiles,  and 
the  glory  of  Israel  Luke  ii.  31,  32.  Already  has  an 
angel  of  the  Lord  announced  his  advent  to  the  shep* 
herds  :  already  has  a  multitude  of  the  heavenly  host 
made  the  air  resound  with  these  triumphant  btrains, 
Glory  to  God  in  the  highest,  and  on  earth  peace,  good 
ivill  towards  men,  Lukeii.  14.  Already  have  the  sages> 
of  the  East  arrived  to  render  him  supreme  homage, 
as  to  their  Sovereign.  What  remained  to  Simeon, 
after  having  seen  the  Saviour  of  the  world,  hut  to 
lake  possession  of  the  long-expected  salvation?  He 
accordingly  takes  the  child  in  his  arms :  his  faith  is 
now  changed  into  visicm,  and  his  hope  into  enjoy- 
ment, and  he  in  transport  exclaims,  "  Lord,  now  lettest 
thou  thy  servant  depart  in  peace,  according  to  thy 
w^ord,  for  mine  eyes  have  seen  thy  salvation." 

This  devout  rapture  is  to  be  the  subject  of  our 
present  discom'se,  and  its  import  we  shall  attempt  to 
unfold,  after  having  made  a  few  reflections  of  a  dif- 
ferent kind,  tending  to  elucidate  the  text, 

I.  We  arc  to  make  a  few  preliminary  reflections, 
for  elucidating  the  text.  And  here  it  is  natural, 
in  the  first  place,  to  inquire,  Who  this  Simeon  was, 
who  acts  such  a  distinguished  part,  at  this  period  of 
the  gospel -history  ?  But  all  tb.at  can  be  added  to  the 
narration  of  the  Evangelist  is  merely  a  tissue  of  con- 
jectural traditions  palpably  false,  or,  at  best,  ex- 
tremely uncertain.  Cardinal  Baronius*,  on  the  au- 
thority of  some  ancient  Doctors  of  the  Church,  in- 
sists that  he  must  have  been  of  the  sacerdotal  order. 
This  they  attempt  to  prove  from  the  words  of  the 

passage. 
*  Annal.  Eccles.  A.  C.  1.  page  5S.  Tom.  I.  Antv.  1612. 


gd  The  Song  of  Simeon. 

passage  under  review,  He  took  the  infant  Jesus  in  his 
arms,  as  if  to  represent  him  to  the  Lord  ;  an  idea  not 
supported  by  any  one  of  the   circumstances  recorded 
in    the    gospel.      Certain    modern    doctors  *  heUeve 
him  to  have  been  the  son    of  the    celebrated  Hillel, 
who  was  chief  of  the  sect  of  the  Pharisees.      They 
even  go  so  far  as  to  assert,  that  he  was  the  father  of 
jthat  Gamaliel  at  whose    feet  Paul   was  brought  up. 
With  respect    to  his  condition,    a    variety  of  fables' 
are  retailed  descriptive  of   his   person ;  such  as  that 
he  was  blind  f ,  and  recovered  his  sight  on  receiving 
our  Saviour  into  his   arms :    and  tiiat  other,  of  his 
being  one  of  the  interpreters  of  the  Septuagint  ver-- 
sion  X  ?  that  having  found  many  passages  which  pre- 
dicted that  the  Messiah  was  to  be  born  of  a  Virgin, 
he  refused  to  translate  them  ;    nay,  that  he  substi- 
tuted the  term  Woman  in  place  of  Firgin,  in  trans- 
lating the  noted  prediction  of  Isaiah,  vii.  I4  *    that 
having    closed    his  tablets,    on  opening  them  to  re- 
sume his  labour,  he  found  the  word  Virgin  miracu- 
lously subsisted  in    place  of    Woman;    that  he  be- 
sought   God    to    grant    him    an    explanation  of  this 
wonderful   phenomenon,    and   his    prayer     was     an- 
swered :   once  more  §,  that  having  seen  in  the  temple 
various  women    presenting    their  children,    he    had 
distinguished  the    holy  Virgin    by    certain    rays   of 
light    which    surrounded    her    person,    on  which  he 
thus  addressed  the  other  mothers  :    Wherefore  do  you 
vrestnt  these  chUdren  before  the  altar  P  Turn  romid, 
and  behold  this  one,  who  is  more  ancient  than  Abraham. 
Fictions,  of  no  higher  authority  than  what  is  farther 
related  of  him,   namely,  that  the  Jews  1|,  jealous  of 

his- 

*  Consult  Lightfoot,  Tom.  II.  Horse  Hebr.  in  Luc.  II.  %b.  page 
498.  Rot.  1686. 

f  Baronius  ut  supra. 

X  Allatius  de  JlccI.  Occid.  Col.  1648.  Nicepli.  Hist.  EgcI.  Lib. 
I.  cap.  2»  Paris,  1630. 

§  Baronius  ut  supra. 

II  From  a  passage  of  St  Epiphanius  misunder stood.  See  Epipb. 
Tom.  II.  d«  Vit.  Proph.  page  130.  Paris  1622. 


The  Song  of  Smeo?i.  5 

his  talents  and  virtues,  and,  more  especially,  scanda- 
lized at  the  testimony  which  he  had  borne  to  Jesus 
Christ,  had  refused  him  the  honours  of  sepulture  : 
that  his  remains,  after  having  reposed  a  long  time 
at  Constantinople  f ,  in  a  chapel  dedicated  by  James, 
denominated  the  Less,  were  conveyed  to  Venice  ^ 
in  the  thirteenth  century. 

Dropping,  then,  legends  of  such  doubtful  autho- 
rity, let  us  satisfy  ourselves  with  exhibiting  Simeon 
under  three  authentic  characters,  which  while  they 
lead  us  to  an  acquaintance  with  the  man  himself,  will 
give  us  an  idea  of  the  state  of  the  Jewish  nation,  at 
the  era  of  the  Messiah's  birth.  The  first  respects  the 
faith  of  Simeon  :  ke  waited  for  the  co7isolatio7i  of  Is- 
rael. The  second  respects  his  piety  and  moral  con- 
duct ;  he  was  just  and  devout.  The  third  respects 
his  gifts  and  privileges  ;  he  ivas  divi?ielt/  mspired,  and 
it  was  revealed  to  him  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  that  he  should 
7iot  see  death,  before  he  had  seen  the  Lord's  Christ. 

1.  He  ivaitedfor  the  consolation  of  Israel,  that  is, 
for  the  Messiah.  This  phraseology  was  adopted  by 
the  ancient  Jews,  and  is  still  in  use  among  the  mo- 
dern. The  years  of  the  co7isolatton^,  is  an  usual  ex- 
pression employed  by  them  to  denote  the  years  of 
the  Messiah.  One  of  their  most  solemn  oaths  is  that 
which  appeals  to  the  co7isolatio7i :  and  one  of  their 
most  common  formularies  is  to  this  effect;  "  So  may  I 
see  the  consolation,  as  I  have  done  such  or  such  a  thing : 
so  may  I  see  the  consolation,  as  my  testimony  is  con- 
sistent with  truth."  The  prophets  themselves  employ 
the  same  style:  "  Comfort  ye,  comfort  ye  my  people, 
saith  your  God :  speak  ye  comfortably  to  Jerusalem," 
Isa.  xi.  1.  "  The  spirit  of  the  Lord  God  is  upon  me; 
because  the  Lord  hath  anointed  me  to  preach  good 
tidings  unto  the  meek  ...  to  proclaim  the  acceptable 

year 

f  Codin.  Orlg.  Const,  page  56.     Lut.  1655. 
X  Tillemont,  Memoir.  Eccles.  Toni.  I.  page  44S.    Par,  .l/p93 
§  Lightfoot,  in  supra. 


(3  The  Song  cf  Siuicon. 

year  of  the  Lord,  ....  and  to  comfort  all  that  mounij'' 
isa.  Ixi.  i,  2.  "  Sing,  O  heavens;  and  be  joyful,  O 
earth  ;  and  break  forth  into  singing,  O  mountains ; 
for  the  Lord  hath  comforted  his  people,"  Isa.  xlix.  I3. 

It  were  easy  to  prove,  that  these  are  so  many  ora- 
cular predictions,  which  the  inspired  authors  of  the 
New  Testament,  the  only  infallible  interpreters  of 
the  Old,  understood  as  descriptive  of  the  Messiah. 
And  proofs  would  multiply  upon  us  without  end, 
were  we  more  particularly  to  undertake  to  demon- 
strate, that  the  title  of  tfw  consolation  is  peculiarly 
adapted  to  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ :  but  however  in- 
structive such  reflections  might  be  of  themselves, 
they  vv'ould  carry  us  too  far  from  the  present  object 
of  pursuit. 

We  could  only  wish,  that  the  faith  of  Simeon 
might  assist  you  in  forming  an  idea  of  the  state  of 
the  Jewish  church  prior  to  the  coming  of  the  Mes- 
siah. Believers,  under  that  dispensation,  entertained 
the  same  expectation  with  Simeon :  like  him  they 
-waited  for  tke  consolation  of  IsraeL 

We  by  no  means  presume  to  affirm  that  their  ideas 
on  this  subject  were  exempted  from  prejudice.  We 
w^ell  know  that  they  assigned  to  most  of  the  oracles, 
which  announced  a  Redeeirxcr,  a  sense  conformable 
to  the  colour  of  their  passions.  Isaiah,  who  repre- 
sented him  as  despised  and  rejected  of  men,  Isa.  liii.  3. 
had,  undoubtedly,  a  more  just  conception  of  him 
than  the  sons  of  Zebedee  adopted,  Mark  x.  37. 
when  they  requested  of  him  the  most  distinguished 
honours  of  his  kingdom.  Daniel,  who  predicted 
that  Messiah  shozild  be  cut  off,  Dan.  ix.  26.  entered, 
undoubtedly,  much  more  profoundly  into  the  view 
of  his  coming  into  the  world,  than  Peter  did,  who 
having  heard  him  speak  of  the  death  which  he  was 
to  suffer,  began  to  rebuke  him,  saying.  Be  it  far  from 
thee.  Lord:  this  shall  not  be  unto  thee,  Matth.  xvi.  22. 
Job,  who  contemplated  him  by  the  eye  of  faitlj,  as 

stamlip/^l 


TJiQ  So?ig  of  Simeon,  7 

standi/ig  at  the  latter  day  upon  the  earthy  Job  xix.  25, 
26.  and  who  hoped  to  behold  him  eye  to  eye,  even 
after  worms  should  have  destroyed  his  body,  knew  in- 
comparably better  the  blessings  which  he  was  to 
pmxhase  for  mankind,  than  those  grovelling  spirits 
who  expected  from  him  temporal  enjoyments  mere- 
ly. Even  those  of  the  Jews  whose  understanding 
was  most  clearly  enlightened,  had  much  less  pene- 
tration into  the  mystery  of  the  cross  than  the  meanest 
of  Christians,  and  according  to  the  saying  of  Jesus 
Christ,  "  He  that  is  least  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven, 
is,  in  this  respect,  greater  than  John  Baptist,"  Matth. 
xi.  11.  and  than  all  the  prophets  :  nevertheless  they/ 
all  lived  in  expectation  of  a  deliverer :  they  all  consi-/ 
dered  him  as  the  centre  of  every  divine  grace :  theV 
all  v/aitcd  for  him  as  the  consolation  of  Israel.  Thij 
is  the  first  character  given  us  of  Simeon. 

2.  He  was  just  and  devout.     The  epithet  jk?/^  iwai 
not  be  taken  in  a  literal  and  exact  sense.      Bewa/j 
how  you  give  the  lie  to  revelation,  to  experience,  /o 
your  own  heart,  whose  concurring  testimony  evin^s 
that  there  is  none  righteous  upon  the  earth,  no  not  oAei 
imagine  not  that  Simeon  by  his  virtues  merited  ^^^^ 
privilege  of  seeing  the  Lord's  Christ,  and  of  i^^rtak- 
ing  of  the  fruits  of   his  incarnation.      Th^  righte- 
ousness of  Simeon  consisted  in  the  effort^  which  he 
made  to  work  righteousness  :  his   perfection,  in  the 
desire  with  which  he  was  animated  to  go  on  to  per- 
fection, and  in  the  regret  which   be  felt  that  his  at- 
tainments   were    so    inconsiderable.      The    sacrifices 
wiiich  he  made  to  God,  derived  all  t^ieir  value  from 
the  mercy  of  that  God   who  was  the   object   of  his 
fear.     Let  this  great  principle  of  Christian  theolog;y 
be  deeply  impressed  on  your  mind^  :  lose  sight   of  it 
no  not  for  a  moment,  and  be  constantly  vigilant  lest 
the  impure  doctrine  of  the  merit  of  good  works  find 
admission  among  you. 

But 


fi  The  Song  of  Simeon, 

But   wherefore   suggest   cautions   to    this    effect  ? 
Wherefore  should  these  walls  so  frequently   resound 
with   truths  of  tlus  class  ?  Mj  brethren,  you  have  so 
effectually    excluded,    by    your  coldness  in  the  per- 
formance  of  good  works,   the  doctrine  of  their  me- 
rit, that  there  is  little  room  to  entertain  the  appre- 
hension of  its   ever  finding  an  establishment  in  the 
midst  of  us.     And  it  is  an  undeniable  fact,  that  this 
error  has   gained  no  partisans  in   our   churches  ;  at 
lease,  if  there  be  any,  they  have  hitherto  kept  them- 
selves invisible.     We  have   seen   many   persons  who, 
under  the  power  of  illusion,  imagined  they  had  ful- 
filled the  conditions  upon  which  the  promises  of  sal- 
vation are  founded  :  but  never  did  we  find  one  who 
idvanced  a  plea  of  merit.     But  what  we  have  seen, 
md  what  we  have  cause  every   day   to   deplore,  and 
what  is  involving  multitudes  in  utter  ruin,  is  our  fre- 
uently  deceiving  ourselves  with  the  belief,  that  be- 
tiuse  righteousness  and  the  fear  of  God  are  not  merito- 
^Dus,  they  are  therefore  unnecessary.     What  we  have 
sen,  aiid  what  we  have  cause  every  day  to  deplore,  is 
-1^.  unhappy  persuasion  prevailing  with  many  who 
beat  |;]^e  Christian  name,  that  because  the   advent  of 
the  ]Vi><^siah  is  a  dispensation  of  grace,  it  gives  encour- 
agement+o  licentiousness  and  corruption. 

Let  us  i^x^  employ  such  ingenious  pains  to  de- 
ceive ourselves.  Multiply  without  end,  ye  disputers 
of  this  worH,  your  questions  and  controversies,  it 
will  never  be  \r\  your  power  to  prevent  my  clearly 
discerning,  in  the  doctrine  of  the  gospel,  this  two- 
fold truth  :  on  t\ie  one  hand,  that  the  best  prepara- 
tion for  receiving  the  reign  of  grace,  is  that  vrhich 
Simeon  made  :  he  luas  just  and  devout,  a?id  he  ivaitcd 
for  the  consolatim  of  Israel.  On  the  other  hand,  that 
the  most  insurmounta\ile  obstacle  which  can  be  op- 
posed to  this  reign,  is  impiety  and  injustice.  "  Pre- 
pare ye  the  way  of  the  Lord,  make  straight  in  the  de- 
sert a  high-way  for  our  God.     Every  valley  shall  be 

exalted. 


The  Song  of  Stmeo?!.  Q 

exalted,  and  every  mountain  and  hill  shall  be  made 
low :  and  the  crooked  shall  be  made  straight,  and  the 
rough  places  plain,  and  all  flesh  shall  see  the  salvation 
of  God,"  Isa.  xl.  3.  Mat.  iii.  3-  Luke  iii.  6.  This 
was  the  voice  of  the  forerunner  of  Jesus  Christ ;  and 
wherein  did  he  make  this  preparation  to  consist  ?  The 
preparation  of  him  who  had  two  coats  was  to  impart 
to  him  who  had  none^  Luke  iii.  11.  The  preparation 
of  him  who  had  meat,vf2i^  to  act  in  like  manner.  That 
of  the  publicans  was  to  exact  no  more  than  that  which 
urns  appomted  them,  ver.  13.  That  of  the  soldier  was 
to  do  violence  to  no  vicin,  to  accuse  no  one  falsely,  a^id  to 
he  content  luith  his  wages,  ver.  14.  The  preparation  of 
all  was  to  bring  forth  fruits  worthy  of  repentance,  ver. 
8.  Without  these,  the  reign  of  grace  was  the  reign  of 
wrath :  without  these,  "  the  ax  was  already  laid  unto 
the  root  of  the  trees  ;  and  every  tree  which  brought 
not  forth  good  fruit  was  to  be  hewn  down,  and  cast 
into  the  fire  "  ver.  9.  and  this  Messiah,  this  Redeemer 
of  mankind,  was  to  come  with  "  his  fan  in  his  hand, 
thoroughly  to  purge  his  floor  ;  to  gather  the  wheat  into 
his  garner ;  but  to  burn  the  chaft'  with  tire  unquench  \ 
able,  ver.  17. 

.  Ah  !  if  at  this  period  of  the  gospel  dispensation, 
when  v/e  are  exercising,  in  some  manner,  the  func- 
tion of  John  Baptist,  if  in  these  days  wherein  we 
come  to  announce  the  revival  of  the  reign  of  Jesus 
Christ  in  the  midst  of  us,  by  the  celebration  of  his 
incarnation  and  birth  ;  by  the  commemoration  which 
we  are  to  make  next  Lord's  day  in  the  sacrament  of 
the  supper:  if  at  this  season  when  w^e  are  crying 
aloud  to  you  in  the  words  of  St  John,  prej)are  ye  the 
way  of  the  Lord :  should  you  with  the  multitudes  who 
attended  his  ministry,  inquire,  saying,  and  what  shall 
we  do  P  We  would  reply,  wait  for  the  consolation  of 
/^vr«e/,  as. Simeon  waited  for  it:  britig  forth  fruits 
worthy  of  repentance. 

Prepare  the  way  rf  the  JuOrd,  ye  great  ones  of  the 

earth  ; 


10  '       The  Song  of  Siiiicon, 

earth  ;  lead  the  way  in  a  procession  of  penitents,  a^ 
the  king  of  Nineveh  did,  when  the  preaching  of 
J6nah  thundered  impending  destruction  in  his  ears, 
Jon.  iii.  4.  9-  Humble  yourselves  under  the  mighty 
hand  of  God,  1  Pet.  v.  6.  by  whom  kings  reign,  and 
princes  decree  justice,  Prov.  viii.  15.  Employ  the 
power  with  which  Providence  has  entrusted  you, 
not  in  a  vain  display  of  furniture  more  magnificent, 
or  of  equipages  more  splendid  ;  not  hy  assuming  a 
deportm.ent  more  lofty  and  intimidating;  hut  in 
curbing  hold  and  insolent  vice ;  but  in  maintaining 
the  cause  of  truth  and  justice ;  but  in  wiping  away 
the  tears  of  the  Vvidov/  and  the  orphan ;  but  in  re- 
"wai'ding  services  rendered  to  the  state  ;  but  m  pro- 
curing respect  to  the  solemn  institutions  of  religion  ; 
but  in  preventing  the  circulation  of  indecent  and 
corruptive  publications  ;  and,  as  far  as  in  you  lies, 
in  levelling  to  the  ground  that  monster  infideUty, 
which  is  rearing  its  daring  forehead  in  the  midst  of 
you. 

Prepare  the  ivay  of  the  Lord,  ye  pastors  of  the 
flock.  Distinguish  yourselves  from  private  indivi- 
duals, not  only  by  the  habit  which  you  wear,  and 
by  the  functions  \\  liich  you  discharge  ;  but  by  your 
zeal  for  the  church  of  Christ,  by  your  unshaken 
iirmness  and  fortitude  in  opposing  those  vvho  impu- 
dently transgress  ;  but  by  preserving  a  scrupulous 
distance  from  every  thing  characteristic  rather  of 
the  slaves  of  this  world,  than  of  the  ministers  of 
the  living  God, 

Prepare  ye  the  ivay  of  the  Lord,  professing  Chris- 
tians. Celebrate  your  solemn  feasts,  not  only  by  fre- 
quenting our  religious  assemblies,  but  by  a  holy  ab- 
stinence from  those  secret  abominations,  and  those 
puplic  scandalous  practices  which  have  so  long  in- 
flamed the  wrath  of  heaven  against  us  ;  which  even 
now  are  scattering  the  seeds  of  discord  through 
these  provinces  ;  which  are  draining  the  resources  of 

our 


TJw  Song  of  Simeon.  11 

our  country,  which  are  tarnishing  her  glory,  which 
present  to  our  eyes,  in  a  lowering  futurity,  vicissi- 
tudes still  more  calamitous  and  moie  deeply  ensan- 
guined than  those  which  have  already  cost  us  so  many 
tears,  and  so  much  blood. 

This,  this  is  the  only  effectual  method  of  waiting 
for  deliverance  and  redempdon.     1  ar  removed  from 
us  he  those  frivolous  terrors,  which  would  suggest, 
that  to  be  subjected  to  the  yoke  of  Jesus  Christ,  is 
to  derogate  from  his  merits  !  And  let  us  not  deceive 
ourselves  ;  there  is  not    a    single    particular  in  the 
system  of  the  gospel ;  there  is  not  a  single  article  of 
Christian  theology,  but  what  preaches  terror,  if  we 
are  destitute  of  that  righteousness,  and   of  that  fear 
of  God  with  which  Simeon  ivaited  foi^  the  consolation 
of  IsraeL     In  order  to  our  having  an  interest  in  the' 
pardoning  mercy  which  the  Messiah  has  purchased 
for  us,  wc  must^/l^^r  God,  as  Simeon  did;  we  must 
be  just  as  he  was ;  we  must  hold  sin  in  detestation  ; 
we  must  be  of  a  poor  and  of  a  contjite  spirit,  Is.  Ixvi.  2. 
because  of  it ;  we  must  cease  to  do  evil,  and  learn  to 
do  we//,  Is.   i.  l6",   I7.     In  order  to   our  having  an 
interest  in  sanctifying  grace  and  in  the  spirit  of  rege- 
neration, communicated  to  us  from   the   Messiah,  we 
musty^«r  God  ixs  did  Simeon;  we  must  he  just  like 
him,    we    must    love    wisdom ;    we    must   ask   it  of 
God  .  .  .  nothing  ivaveri?ig,  James  i.  5,  6.   or,  as  the 
passage  of  St  James  to  Vvhich  I  refer  might  be  ren- 
dered, not  halting,  or  hesitating  between  the   choice 
of  wisdom  and  folly  ;  we  must  not  be  like  a  wave  of 
the  sea,  which  seems  to  be  making  a  movement  to- 
wards the  shore,  but  anon  returns  with  impetuosity 
into  the  gulf  from  which  it  issued. 

Farther,  in  order  to  our  having  a  knowledge  of 
the  doctrines  which  were  taught  by  the  Messiah,  we 
mwst  fear  God  as  (\\i\  Simeon,  we  must  he  just  like 
hthi ;  for  the  secret  of  the  Lord  is  with  them  that  fear 
him  ;  and  lie  will  shew  them  his  covenant,  Ps.  xxv.  I4. 

and 


12  The  Song  of  Sinieon, 

and  "  if  any  man  will  do  his  will,  he  shall  know  of  the 
doctrine  whether  it  be  of  God,  or  whether  I  speak  of  my- 
self," Jo.  vii.  17.  In  order  to  our  having  an  interest 
in  the  promises  of  the  glory  to  be  revealed,  which 
are  made  to  us  by  the  Messiah,  we  musty^«r  God  as 
did  Simeon,  we  must  be  just  like  him,  for  without 
holiness  no  man  shall  see  the  Lord,  Heb.  xii.  14.  and 
"  having  these  promises,  let  us  cleanse  ourselves  from  all 
filthiness  of  the  flesh  and  of  the  spirit,"  2  Cor.  vii.  1. 
If  we  would  attain  the  assurance  of  salvation,  we 
must  year  God^  as  did  Simeon,  we  must  be  just  like 
him  :  Let  him  that  thinketh  he  standeth,  take  heed  lest 
he  fall,  1  Cor.  x.  12.  and  "  if  God  spared  not  the  na- 
tural branches,  take  heed  lest  he  also  spare  not  thee," 
Rom.  xi.  21. 

3.  Finally,  we  are  informed  by  the  evangelist, 
that  "  the  Holy  Ghost  was  upon  Simeon  :  and  it  was  re- 
vealed to  him  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  that  he  should  not  see 
death,  before  he  had  seen  the  Lord's  Christ." 

On  this  particular,  I  shall  confine  myself  to  a 
single  reflection.  It  supplies  us  with  an  explication 
of  several  ancient  oracles,  and  particularly  that  of 
the  prophet:  "  And  it  shall  come  to  pass  afterward, 
that  I  will  pour  out  my  spirit  upon  all  flesh,  and  your  sons 
and  your  daughters  shall  prophesy,  your  old  men  shall 
dream  dreams,  your  young  men  shall  see  visions,  Joel 
ii.  28.  The  Jews  themselves  acknowledge  *,  that 
the  spirit  of  prophecy  was  one  of  the  prerogatives, 
which  had  been  denied  to  the  second  temple.  This 
gift  seems  to  have  expired  with  Malachi.  For  an 
uninterrupted  series  of  more  than  four  hundred 
years  no  prophet  had  arisen.  This  high  privilege 
was  not  to  be  restored  to  the  church  till  the  latter 
days  should  come  ;  and,  conformably  to  the  style  of 
the  Old  Testament,  the  latter  days  denote  the  dis- 
pensation of  the  Messiah.     Here,  then,  we  have  the 

commencement 

*  Talmud  Iliero'^.  Taanlth,  fol.  vi.  1.  Babylon.  Joma,  fo]» 
xxi.  2. 


The  Song  of  Simeo?i.  13 

commencement  of  the  latter  days.  Here  we  behold 
the  prophetic  ilkimination  re-appearing  in  all  its 
lustre.  Here  the  hallowed  fire  is  rekindling,  and 
celestial  revelations  enlighten  a  dark  world.  These 
exalted  privileges  are  commmiicated  first  to  Zacha- 
rias,  who  beholds  an  angel  of  the  Lord  standing  on 
the  right  side  of  the  altar  of  incense,  Luke  i.  1 1 .  They 
are  next  bestowed  on  the  blessed  Virgin,  whom  the 
angel  thus  addresses,  "  Hail  thou  that  art  highly  fa- 
voured, the  Lord  is  with  thee  :  blessed  art  thou  among 
women,"  ver.  28.  They  are  extended  even  to  the 
shepherds,  to  whom  another  angel  announces  the 
birth  of  the  Saviour  of  the  world,  and  who  "  suddenly 
hear  a  multitude  of  the  heavenly  host,  praising  God,  and 
saying,  Glory  to  God  in  the  highest,  and  on  earth  peace, 
good  Avill  towards  men,"  Luke  ii.  13,  14.  They  are 
poured  down  upon  Simeon ;  and  we  shall  presently 
behold  the  whole  Christian  church  inundated  with 
an  overflowing  flood  of  divine  irradiation.  Let  this 
suffice  as  to  the  character  of  Simeon. 

II.  We  are  to  attempt  to  unfold  the  import  of 
the  devout  rapture  which  he  felt.  And  here  let  us 
give  undivided  attention  to  the  object  before  us,  and 
let  every  power  of  thought  be  applied  to  discover, 
and  to  display,  the  emotions  by  which  this  holy  man 
of  God  was  then  animated.  He  takes  Jesus  Christ 
in  his  arms :  he  blesses  God,  and  says,  "  Lord,  now 
lettest  thou  thy  servant  depart  in  peace,  according  to 
thy  word ;  for  mine  eyes  have  seen  thy  salvation.  Let- 
test  thou  thy  servant  depart :"  the  Greek  phrase  liter- 
ally rendered,  is,  thou  imloosest,  or  settest  free  thy  ser- 
vant. The  sense  of  the  expression  cannot,  in  my  ap- 
prehension, be  disputed  in  this  place.  To  unloose,  in 
the  writings  of  certain  profane  authors,  and  the 
meaning  is  the  same  in  our  text,  signifies  tha.t  act 
of  Deity  which  separates  the  soul  from  the  body. 
Thou  liberatest  thy  servant  in  'peace,  that  is,  thou  per- 

mittcst 


14  The  Song  of  Simeon. 

miitest  thy  servant  to  die  in  peace.  This  object,  which 
stikes  the  eyes  of  Simeon,  is  to  him  a  complete  se- 
cm'ity  against  the  terrors  of  death.  Wherefore 
should  he  wish  to  live  longer  in  this  world  ?  Could 
it  be  to  behold  some  wonderful  event,  or  to  acquire 
some  valuable  possession  ?  But  his  whole  soul  is  rapt 
in  admiration  of  the  object  with  which  his  eyes  are 
feasted  :  the  delight  he  feels  in  contemplating  the 
Redeemer,  the  Lord^s  Christ,  absorbs  every  faculty. 
Could  the  fear  of  the  punishment  of  sin  suggest  a 
wash  to  live  longer  ?  He  holds  in  his  arms  the  vic- 
tim which  is  going  to  be  offered  up  to  divine  justice. 
Could  he  desire  longer  life  from  any  doubt  he  en- 
tertained respecting  the  doctrine  of  a  life  to  come  ? 
He  is  at  the  very  source  of  life,  and  needs  only  to  be 
released  from  a  mortal  body,  to  arrive  at  immorta- 
lity. Three  sources  of  meditation,  w^ell  worthy,  I 
am  bold  to  say,  of  all  the  attention  you  are  able  to 
bestow. 

1.  The  desire  of  beholding  some  w^onderful  and 
interesting  event,  is  one  of  the  most  usual  causes  of 
attachment  to  life.  There  are  certain  fixed  points, 
in  wdiich  all  our  hopes  seem  to  be  concentrated, 
Nothing  is  more  common  among  men,  even  among 
those  whose  character  as  Christians  is  the  least  liable 
to  suspicion,  than  to  say,  could  I  but  live  to  see 
such  and  such  an  event  take  place,  I  should  die  con- 
tent :  could  I  but  live  to  see  that  adversary  of  the 
church  confounded  :  could  I  but  live  to  see  that 
mystery  of  Providence  unfolded :  could  I  but  live  to 
see  Zion  arise  out  of  her  ruins  and  the  chains  of 
her  bondmen  broken  asunder :  could  I  but  live  to 
see  my  son  attain  such  and  such  a  period.  Such 
emotions  are  not  in  every  case  to  be  condemned  as 
unlawful ;  but  how  much  do  they  frequently  savour 
of  human  infirmity  I  Let  it  be  our  study  to  die  at 
peace  with  God,  and   we  shall  be  disposed  to  die, 

whenever 


The  Song  of  Simeon,  15 

whenever  it  shall  please  him,  who  has  sent  us  into  the 
world,  to  cajl  us  out  of  it  again. 

Death    draws   aside    the    curtain,   which    conceals 
from  our  eyes  what  is  most  worthy  of  our  regard,  of 
our  desire,  of  our  admiration.     If   thou  diest  in  a 
state   of    reconcihation    with   God,    thine  eyes  shall 
behold  events  inlinitely  more  interesting  and  impor- 
tant than  all  those  which  can  suggest  a  wish  to  con-- 
tinue  longer  in  this  world.     Thou  shait  behold  some- 
thing un.t>peakabiy  greater  than  the  solution  of  some 
particular  mystery  of  Providence :    thou  shait    dis-- 
cern  an  universal  Ught,  which  shall    dispel   all   thy 
doubts,  resolve  all  thy  difficulties,  put  to  flight  all 
thy  darkness.     Thou  shait  behold  something  incom- 
parably  surpassing    the   confusion    of    those  tyrants 
whose  prosperity   astonishes   and  offends   thee  :  thou 
shait  behold  Jesus   at  the  right  hand  of  his   Father, 
holding  a  rod  of  iron,  ready  to  dash  in  pieces^  like  a 
potter's  vessel,  Psal.  ii.  9.  all  those  who  dare  oppose  his 
empire.      Thou   shait  behold  something  incompara-n 
bly    more  sublime    than  the    dust    of  Zion    re-ani- 
mat-ed :    thou  shait  behold    the    Neiu    Jerusalem,  of 
which  God  and  the  Lamb  are  the  Sun  and  the  Temple, 
Eev.  xxi.  2,  22,  23-     Thou  shait  behold  something 
incomparably    more    interesting   than  the  chains  of 
her  bondmen    broken    asunder :    thou    shait    behold 
the  souls  of  a  thousand  martyrs  invested  with  ivhke 
robes,   Rev.   vi.    11.  because  they  fought  under  the 
banner  of  the  cross  :   thou  shait  liear  them  crying  one 
to  another;  "  Alleluia:  for  the  Lord  God  omnipotent 
reigneth.     Let  us  be  glad  and  rejoice,  and  give  honour 
to  him;  for  the  marriage  of  the  Lamb  is  come,  andhi^^ 
wife  hath  made  herself  ready,"  Piev.  xix.  6,  7.     Thou 
shait  behold  something  incomparably  more  interest- 
ing tlian  the  establishment  of  that  Son,  the  object 
of    so    many   tender   aifections  :    thou    shait    behold 
those  multitudes  of  glorified  saints  who  are  eternally 
to  partake    with    thee  in   the    felicity    of  the  ever- 
blessed   God  :  thine  eyes  shall   behold  that   adorable 
3  fUce, 


l6  The  Song  of  Simeon. 

face,  the  looks  of  which  absord,  if  I  may  use  the  ex- 
pression, all  those  of  the  creature. 

Let  it  be  admitted,  at  the  same  time,  that  if 
ever  any  one  could  be  justified  in  expressing  a  wish 
to  have  the  hour  of  death  deferred,  it  was  in  the  case 
of  those  believers,  who  lived  at  the  period  when  the 
Messiah  was  expected.  This  was  the  case  of  Si- 
meon., Brought  up  under  an  economy  in  which 
every  thing  was  mysterious  and  emblematical,  he  is 
justifiable,  should  he  have  expressed  a  wish  to  see  the 
elucidation  of  all  these  sacred  enigmas.  When  a 
prince  is  expected  to  visit  one  of  our  cities ;  when 
we  behold  the  sumptuous  equipages  by  which  he  is 
preceded,  the  train  of  messengers  who  announce  his 
approach  ;  palaces  decorated,  and  triumphal  arches 
reared,  for  his  reception  :  does  not  all  this  excite  a 
desire  of  obtaining  a  nearer  view  of  the  person  of 
whom  so  lofty  an  idea  is  conveyed  from  preparations 
so  magnificent  ?  All  these  preparations,  however, 
are,  in  many  cases,  not  so  much  the  badges  of  the 
real  greatness  of  the  personage  whom  they  announce, 
as  of  his  vanity.  It  has  oftener  than  once  been 
felt,  that  the  object  of  tlie  least  importance  in  a 
splendid  procession,  was  the  very  man  who  acted  as 
the  hero  of  it.  But  what  could  the  Levitical  dis- 
pensation furnish,  to  convey  an  idea  of  the  Messiah, 
but  what  fell  infinitely  short  of  the  Messiah   himself  ? 

Simeon  at  length  beholds  this  Messiah,  so  eagerly 
expected  through  so  many  ages.  Simeon,  more 
highly  favoured  than  Jacob,  who,  on  his  dying  bed 
exclaimed,  /  have  waited  for  thy  salvation,  O  Lord  ! 
Gen.  xlix.  8.  Simeon  exulting,  says.  Lord,  I  have 
ssen  thij  salvation :  more  highly  favoured  than  so 
mani/  kings,  and  so  ma?ii/  prophets,  who  desired  to  see 
the  Redeemer,  but  did  not  see  him,  Luke  x.  24-^ 
more  highly  privileged  than  so  many  believers  of 
former  ages,  who  saw  only  the  pronvises  of  him  afar 
off,  and  embraced  them,  Heb.  xi.  13-  he  receives  the 
efiect  of  those  promises  ;  he  contemplates,  not  afar 

V  off. 


The  Song  of  Simeon.  17 

^  but  nigh,  the  star  which  was  to  come  out  of  Jacobs 
Num.  xxiv.  17.  he  beholds  the  accomplishment  of 
the  prophecies,  Christ  the  end  of  the  law  for  righte- 
ousness to  every  one  that  believeth,  Horn.  x.  4.  the  Ark, 
the  Shechinah,  the  habitation  of  the  Deity  in  his 
temple,  he  in  whom  all  the  fulness  of  the  God- 
head dwelleth  bodily ,  Col.  ii.  9.  he  sees  the  manna, 
and  more  than  the  manna,  for  your  fathers  did  eat 
manna  in  the  wilderness  and  are  dead,  John,  vi,  58.  but, 
whoso  eateth  myjiesh  and  drinketh  my  blood,  hath  eter- 
nal life,  wqx.  54.  Father  o/^qz/,  exclaimed  a  Pagan 
prince,  *'  thou  radiant  Sun,  I  thank  thee  that  before  I 
leave  the  world,  I  have  had  the  felicity  of  seeing  Cor- 
nelius Scipio  in  my  kingdom  and  palace  ;  now  I  have 
Jived  as  long  as  I  can  desire,"  It  is  the  very  emotion 
with  which  Simeon  is  animated  :  he  has  lived  long 
enough,  because  he  has  seen  th^  salvation  of  God,  Let 
the  Roman  republic  henceforth  extend  her  empire,  or 
let  its  limits  be  contracted ;  let  the  great  questions  re- 
volving in  the  recesses  of  cabinets  be  determined  this 
way  or  that ;  let  the  globe  subsist  a  few  ages  longer, 
or  crumble  immediately  into  dust ;  Simeon  has  no 
desire  to  see  any  thing  farther  :  "  Lord,  now  lettest 
thou  thy  servant  depart  in  peace,  according  to  thy 
word,  for  mine  eyes  have  seen  thy  salvation." 

2.  Secondly,  Simeon  remains  no  longer  attached 
to  life  from  terror  of  the  punishment  of  sin  after 
death.  The  sting  of  death  is  sin  ;  that  sting  so  pain- 
fully acute  to  all  mankind,  is  peculiarly  so  to  the 
aged.  An  old  man  has  rendered  himself  responsible 
for  all  the  stations  which  he  occupied,  for  all  the 
relations  which  he  formed  in  social  life,  and  in  the 
church.  And  these,  in  general,  become  so  many 
sources  of  remorse.  Generally  speaking,  it  is  not 
separation  from    the    world   merely   which    renders 

VOL.  VI.  C  death 


18  The  Song  of  Simeon. 

death  an  object  of  horror ;  it  is  the  idea  of  the  ac- 
count which  must  be  given  in,  when  we  leave  it.  If 
nothing  else  were  at  stake,  but  merely  to  prepare  for 
removing  out  of  the  world,  a  small  degree  of  reflec- 
tion, a  little  philosophy,  a  little  fortitude  might 
answer  the  purpose.  What  is  the  amount  of  hu- 
man life,  especially  to  a  man  arrived  at  a  certain  pe- 
riod of  existence  ?  What  delight  can  an  old  man 
find  in  society,  after  his  memory  is  decayed,  after 
his  senses  are  blunted,  after  the  fire  of  imagination 
is  extinguished,  when  he  is  from  day  to  day  losing- 
one  faculty  after  another,  when  he  is  reduced  so  low 
as  to  be  the  object  of  forbearance  at  most,  if  not 
that  of  universal  disgust  and  dereliction  ?  But  the 
idea  of  fourscore  years  past  in  hostility  against  God, 
but  the  idea  of  a  thousand  crimes  starting  into  light. 
and  calling  for  vengeance  ;  by  their  number  and  their 
atrocity  exciting  a  fearful  looking  for  ofjudgfnenl — 
this,  this  presents  a  just  ground  of  terror  and  asto- 
nishilient. 

But  all  such  terrors  disappear  in  the  eyes  of  Sime- 
on ;  he  knows  the  end  for  which  this  child  was  born, 
-whom  he  now  holds  in  his  arms :  he  directs  his  eyes, 
beyond  the  cradle,  to  his  cross  ;  by  means  of  the  pro- 
phetic illumination  which  was  upon  him,  he  per- 
ceives this  Christ  of  God  ?7iaking  his  soul  an  offering 
for  5?;2,  Isa.  liii.  10.  He  expects  not,  as  did  his 
worldly-minded  countrymen,  a  temporal  kingdom ;  he 
forms  far  juster  ideas  of  the  glory  of  the  Messiah ;  he 
contemplates  him  spoiling  inincipaUties  and  powers, 
making  a  shew  of  them  openh/,  nailing  them  to  his 
crQss.^Qol,  ii.  15.  Let  us  not  be  accused  of  having 
derived  these  ideas  from  the  schools,  and  from  our 
courses  of  theological  study  :  no,  we  deduce  this  all- 
important  truth  immediately  from  the  substance  of 
the  gospel.     Ponder  seriously,  I  beseech  you,  what 

Simean 


The  Song  of  Simeon.  t§ 

Simeon  himself  says  to  Mary,  as  he  shewed  to  her 
the  infant  Jesus :  "  Behold  this  child  is  set  for  the 
l"all  and  rising  again  of  many  in  Israel;  and  for  a  sign 
which  shall  he  spoken  against :  yea,  a  sword  shall 
pierce  through  thy  own  soul  also,"  Luke  ii.  34,  35. 
What  could  be  meant  by  that  sivord  with  which 
the  mother  of  our  Lord  was  to  have  hev  soul  pierced 
through  P  That  anguish,  undoubtedly;  which  she 
should  undergo,  on  seeing  her  Son  nailed  to  a  cross. 
What  an  object  for  a  mother's  eye  ?  Who  among 
you,  my  brethren,  has  concentrated  every  anxious, 
care,  every  tender  affection  on  one  darling  object, 
say  a  beloved  child,  whom  he  fondly  looks  to,  as 
his  consolation  in  adversity,  as  the  glory  of  his'  fa- 
mily, as  the  support  of  his  feeble  old  age  ?  Let  him 
be  supposed  to  feet  what  no  power  of  language*  is 
able  to  express  :  let  him  put  himself  in  the  place  of 
Mary,  let  that  beloved  child  be  supposed  in  the  place 
of  Jesus  Christ  :  faint  image  still  of  the  conflict 
which  nature  is  preparing  for  that  tender  mother: 
feeble  commentary  on  the  words  of  Simeon  to 
Mary,  ^^r/,  a  sword  shall  pierce  through  thy  own  soul 
also.  Mary  must  lose  that  Son  whose  birth  was  an- 
nounced to  her  by  an  angel  from  heaven  ;  that  Son 
on  whose  advent  the  celestial  hosts  descended  to 
congratulate  the  listening  earth  ;  that  son  whom  so 
many  perfections,  whom  such  ardour  of  charity, 
whom  benefits  so  innumerable  should  have  for  ever 
endeared  to  mankind  :  already  she  represents  to  her- 
self that  frightful  solitude,  that  state  of  universal 
desertion  in  which  the  soul  finds  itself,  when,  having 
been  bereaved  of  all  that  it  held  dear,  it  feels  as  if 
the  wiiele  world  were  dead,  as  if  nothing  else  re- 
mained in  the  Vast  universe,  as  if  every  tiling  that 
coitimunicated  motion  and  life  had  been  annihi-- 
latedv  9. 

'      '  ■   '  And- 


20  The  Song  of  Simeon, 

And  through  what  a  path  was  she  to  behold  this 
Son  departing  out  of  the  world  ?  by  a  species  of 
martyrdom,  the  bare  idea  of  which  scares  the  ima- 
gination. She  beholds  those  bountiful  hands  which 
had  so  frequently  fed  the  hungry,  which  had  per- 
formed so  many  miracles  of  mercy,  pierced  through 
with  nails  :  she  beholds  that  royal  head,  which 
would  have  shed  lustre  on  the  diadem  of  the  uni- 
verse, crowned  with  thorns,  and  that  arm,  destined 
to  wield  the  sceptre  of  the  world,  bearing  a  reed, 
the  emblem  of  mock-majesty  ;  she  beholds  that 
Temple  in  which  dwelleth  all  the  fulness  of  the  God- 
head bodily^  Col.  ii.  p.  with  all  his  wisdom,  with  all 
his  illumination,  with  all  his  justice,  with  all  his 
mercy,  with  all  the  perfections  w^hich  enter  into  the 
notion  of  the  suprem.e  Being;  she  beholds  it  as- 
saulted with  a  profane  hatchet,  and  an  impious 
spear  :  she  hears  the  voices  of  the  children  of  Edom 
crying  aloud,  concerning  this  august  habitation  of 
the  most  High,  Rase  it,  ra^eit,  even  to  the  foundation 
thereof 

But  if  even  then,  w^hile  she  beholds  Jesus  ex- 
piring, she  could  have  been  permitted  to  approach 
him,  to  comfort  him,  to  collect  the  last  sigh  of  that 
departing  spirit !  Could  she  but  have  embraced  that 
dearly  beloved  Son  to  bathe  him  with  her  tears,  and 
bid  him  a  last  farewell !  Could  she  but  for  a  few  mo- 
ments have  stopped  that  precious  fluid  draining  off 
in  copious  streams,  and  consuming  the  sad  remains 
of  exhausted  nature  !  Could  she  but  have  been  per- 
mitted to  support  that  sacred,  sinking  head,  and  to 
pour  balm  into  his  wounds  I  But  she  must  submit  to 
the  hand  of  violence  :  she  too  is  borne  down  by  the 
fotver  of  darkness,  Lujce  xxii.  53.  She  has  nothing- 
to  present  to  the  expiring  sufferer  but  unavailing  so- 
licitude, and  fruitless  tears  :    a  sword  shall  pierce 

throngh 


The  Song  of  Simeo7i.  21 

through  thy  own  soul  also:  Simeon  understood,  then, 
the  mystery  of  the  cross  :  he  looked  to  the  efficacy 
of  that  blood  which  was  to  be  shed  by  the  Redeemer 
whom  he  now  held  in  his  arms,  and  mider  that  hoiy 
impression  exclaims,  "  Lord,  now  lettest  thou  thy  ser- 
vant depart  in  peace,  according  to  thy  word,  for  mine 
eyes  have  seen  thy  salvation/^ 

3.  Finally,  Simeon  no  longer  feels  an  attachment 
to  this  world,  from  any  doubt  or  suspicion  he  enter- 
tained respecting  the  doctrine  of  a  life  to  come. 
He  is  now  at  the  very  fountain  of  life,  and  all  that 
now  remains  is  to  be  set  free  from  a  mortal  body,  in 
order  to  attain  immortality.  We  may  deduce,  from 
the  preparations  of  grace,  a  conclusion  nearly  similar 
to  that  which  we  draw  from  the  preparations  of  na- 
ture, in  order  to  establish  the  doctrine  of  a  future 
state  of  eternal  felicity.  How  magnificent  are  the 
preparations  which  nature  makes  I  What  glory  do 
they  promise  after  death  I  The  Author  of  our  being 
has  endowed  the  human  soul  with  an  unbounded  ca- 
pacity of  advancing  from  knowledge  to  knowledge, 
from  sensation  to  sensation.  I  make  free  here  to 
borrow  the  thought  of  an  illustrious  modern  au- 
thor *  :  "A  perpetual  circulation,"  says  he,  "  of 
"  the  same  objects,  were  they  subject  to  no  other 
**  inconvenience,  would  be  sufficient  to  give  us  a 
"  disgust  of  the  world.  When  a  man  has  beheld 
"  frequently  re-iterated  vicissitudes  of  day  and 
•*  night,  of  summer  and  winter,  of  spring  and 
**  autumn  ;  in  a  w^ord,  of  the  different  appear- 
"  ances  of  nature,  what  is  there  here  below  ca- 
"  pable  of  satisfying  the  mind  ?  I  am  well  aware,'* 
adds  he,  "  how  Ijrilliant,  liow  magnificent  this 
"  spectacle,  is  I  know  how  possible  it  i<;  to  indulge 
'**  in  it  with  a  steady  and  increasing  delight ;  but  I 

"  likewise 
*  Mfnlor,  torn.  ili.  Disc,  cxll,  p.  340. 


22  The  Song  of  Simeon. 

"  likewise  know  that,  at  length,  the  continual  rt- 
"  currence  of  the  same  images  cloys  the  imagina^ 
**  tion,  which  is  eagerly  looking  forward  to  the  re-- 
"  moval  of  the  curtain,  that  it  may  contemplate 
*'  new  scenes,  of  which  it  can  catch  only  a  confused 
**  glimpse  in  the  dark  perspective  of  futurity.  Death, 
"  in  this  point  of  view,  is  a  transition  merely  from 
"  one  scene  of  enjoyment  to  another.  If  present 
"  objects  fatigue  and  excite  disgust,  it  is  only  in 
f^  order  to  prepare  the  soul  for  enjoying,  more  ex- 
"  quisitely,  pleasm'es  of  a  different  nature,  ever  new, 
'*  and  ever  satisfying." 

The  conclusion  deducible  from  the  preparations  of 
nature,  may  likewise  be  derived  from  the  prepara- 
tions of  grace.  Let  us  not  lose  sight  of  our  lead- 
ing object.  How  magnificent  had  the  preparations 
of  grace  appeared  in  the  eyes  of  Simeon  !  This  we 
have  already  hinted  :  the  whole  of  the  Levitical  dis- 
pensation consisted  of  preparations  for  the  appear- 
ance of  the  Messiah  ;  if  we  form  a  judgment  of  the 
blessings  which  he  was  to  bestow  upon  the  human 
race,  from  the  representations  given  us  of  him,  it 
is  impossible  to  refrain  from  drawing  this  conclusion. 
That  the  Messiah  was  to  give  unbounded  scope  to 
the  desires  of  the  heart  of  man,  was  to  communi- 
cate to  him  that  unspeakable  felicity,  for  the  enjoy- 
ment of  which  nature  had  already  prepared  him,  but 
which  nature  had  not  the  power  to  bestow.  There, 
I  mean  in  the  Levitical  dispensation,  you  found  the 
shadows  which  retraced  the  Messiah ;  there  you 
found  types  which  represented  him  ;  there  oracles 
which  predicted  him ;  there  an  exhibition  in  which 
"cvere  displayed  his  riches,  his  pomp,  his  magnifi- 
cence ;  there  you  heard  the  prophets  crying  aloud  : 
"  Drop  down,  ye  heavens,  from  above,  and  let  the  skies 
pour  down  righteousness:  let  the  earth  opep,  and  let 

them 


Xhe  Song  of  Simeon.  2S 

tkem  bring  forth  salvation;  and  letrigliteousness  spring 
up  together,"  Isa.  xlv.  8.  "  For  unto  us  a  Child  is 
born,  unto  us  a  Son  is  given,  and  the  government  shall 
be  upon  his  shoulder;  and  his  name  shall  be  called  Won- 
derful, Counsellor,  The  mighty  God,  The  everlasting 
Father,  The  Prince  of  Peace,"  Isa.  ix.  6.  "  Lift  up  your 
eyes  to  the  heavens,  and  look  upon  the  earth  beneath: 
for  the  heavens  shall  vanish  away  like  smoke,  and  the 
€arth  shall  wax  old  like  a  garment,  and  they  that 
dwell  therein  shall  die  in  like  manner ;  but  my  sal- 
vation shall  be  for  ever,  and  my  righteousness  shall 
not  be  aboUshed,"  Isa.  li.  6. 

Now,  What  state  of  felicity  could  possibly  corres- 
pond to  conceptions  raised  so  high,  by  preparations 
of  such  mighty  import?  What !  amount  to  no  more 
than  that  which  Messiah  bestows  in  this  world  ? 
What  I  no  more  than  to  frequent  these  temples  ? 
what  I  no  more  than  to  raise  these  sacred  songs  of 
praise :  to  celebrate  our  solemn  feasts  :  to  eat  a  lit-, 
tie  bread,  and  to  drink  a  little  wine  at  the  commu- 
nion table  I  And  then  to  die  ?  And  then  to  exist 
no  more  .^  And  can  this  be  all  that  salvation  which 
the  earth  was  to  bring  forth!  And  can  this  be  all 
that  righteousness  which  the  skies  were  to  pour  down  P 
And  can  this  be  the  dew  which  the  heavens  were  to 
drop  down  from  above  ?  And  can  this  be  the  whole 
amount  of  the  atchievements  of  that  Counsellor^  of 
that  wonderful  one,  of  that  Prince  of  Peace,  of  that 
*'  Father  of  Eternity  ?  Lord,  now  lettest  thou  thy  ser- 
vant depart  in  peace,  according  to  thy  word,  for  mine 
eyes  have  seen  thy  salvation."  Good  Simeon,  what 
meaning  do  you  intend  to  convey  by  these  words  ?  In* 
to  what  peace  art  thou  wishing  henceforth  to  depart, 
if  these  eyes,  which  behold  the  Messiah,  are  going 
to  be  doomed  to  the  darkness  of  an  eternal  night  ? 
If  these  hands,  which  are  privileged  to  hold,  and  to 

embrace 


24  The  Song  of  Simeon, 

embrace  bim,  are  going  to  become  a  prey  to  worms*"? 
And  if  tbat  life  which  thou  wert  enjoying  before  thy 
Redeemer  appeared,  is  going  to  be  rent  from  thee^ 
because  he  is  ah'eady  come  ? 

Ah  I  my  brethren,  how  widely  different  are  the 
ideas  which  this  holy  man  of  God  entertained  I 
Lord,  noiu  lettest  thou  thy  servant  depart  in  peace* 
Wherefore  note?  Because  now  I  know,  from  the 
accomplishment  of  thy  promise,  what  was  before  a 
matter  of  presumption  only,  namely,  that  my  soul 
is  not  a  mere  modification  of  matter,  and  a  result  of 
the  arrangement,  and  of  the  harmony  of  my  organs  : 
because  I  am  novj  convinced,  that  this  soul  of  mine, 
on  being  separated  from  the  body,  shall  not  become 
a  forlorn  wanderer  in  a  strange  and  solitary  land  : 
because  now  I  no  longer  entertain  any  doubt  re- 
specting my  own  immortality,  and  because  I  hold 
in  my  arms  him  who  has  purchased  it,  and  who  be- 
stows it  upon  me  :  because  to  see  Jesus  Christ,  and 
to  die,  is  the  highe^^t  blessedness  that  can  be  confer- 
red on  a  mortal  creature* 

Permit  me,  my  beloved  brethren,  to  repeat  my 
words,  and  with  them  to  finish  this  discourse :  To 
see  Jesus  Christ,  and  to  die,  is  the  highest  blessed- 
ness that  csn  be  conferred  on  a  mortal  cj-eature.  En- 
joy, my  friends,  enjoy  the  felicity  which  the  Saviour 
bestows  upon  you,  during  the  course  of  a  transitory 
life :  gratify,  as  you  this  day  turn  a  wondering  eye 
to  the  manger  in  which  this  divine  Saviour  lies,  and 
as  you  celebrate  the  memory  of  his  incarnation, 
gratify  the  taste  which  you  have  for  the  great  and 
the  marvellous  :  and  cry  out  with  an  enraptured 
apostle,  Without  controversy,  ^reat  is  the  mystery  of 
godliness  :  God  teas  manifest  in  the  flesh,  1  Tim.  iii. 
16.  Gratify,  as  in  the  retirement  of  the  closet  you 
devote  yourselves  to  the  study  of  the  doctrine  of  this 

Jesus^ 


The  Song  of  Si/neon,  2$ 

Jesus,  gratify  the  desire  you  feel  to  learn  and  to 
know  :  draw  constant  supplies  of  light  and  truth. 
from  those  treasures  ofiuisdoia  mid  knowledge .  Col.  ii, 
3.  which  he  opens  to  you  m  nis  gospel.  Gratify, 
as  you  receive,  next  Lord's  day,  the  effusions  of  his 
love,  gratify  the  propensity  v/hich  n?vtaraily  disposes 
you  to  love  him.  Let  eveiy  power  of  the  soul  ex- 
pand on  hearing  the  tender  expressions  which  he 
addresses  to  you  in  the  sacrament  of  the  supper : 
Come  unto  me,  all  ye  that  labour  and  are  heavy  laden, 
and  I  will  c^ive  you  rest,  Matt.  xi.  28.  "Behold  I 
stand  at  the  door  and  knock  :  if  any  man  hear  my 
voice,  and  open  the  door,  I  will  come  in  to  him,  and 
will  sup  with  him,  and  he  with  me,'*  Rev.  iii.  20. 

But  after  all,  it  is  not  during  the  course  of  a  tran- 
sitory life,  at  least  it  is  not  while  you  consider  death 
as  still  remote,  that  you  are  capable  of  knowing  the 
pleasure  there  is  in  being  a  Christian.  No,  it  is  nei- 
ther in  the  retirement  of  the  closet,  nor  seated  at 
the  table  of  the  Lord  :  it  is  not  in  your  solemn 
feasts,  that  you  are  capable  of  relishing  the  sweet- 
ness which  is  to  be  found  in  beholding  Jesus  Christ, 
in  embracing  him,  in  believing  on  him  :  it  is  in  the 
last  moments  of  life ;  it  is  when  stretched  on  a 
death-bed.  Till  then,  your  passions  will  sometimes 
call  it  in  question,  whether  the  man  of  the  world  do 
not  actually  enjoy  more  happiness  than  the  Christian  ; 
whether  the  commerce  of  society,  whether  specta- 
cles, play,  the  splendour  of  a  court,  do  not  confer 
more  real  pleasure  than  that  which  flows  from  com- 
munion with  Jesus  Christ. 

But  w^hen  you  shall  find  yourselves,  like  Si- 
meon, in  a  state  of  universal  dereliction  ;  but  when 
you  shall  behold  nothing  around  you  save  unavail- 
ing solicitudes,  save  ineffectual  medicines,  save 
fruitless  tear^,  then  you  will  know  what  the  religion 

©f 


26  The  Song  of  Simeon. 

of  Jesus  Christ  is  ;  then,  iiiy  brethren,  you  will  taste 
the  delight  of  being  a  Christian  \  then  jou  will 
feel  iiil  the  powerful  attraetion  of  that  peace  which 
is  mentioned  in  the  text :  "  Lord,  now  lettest  thou 
thy  servant  depart  in  peace,  according  to  ihy  w^ord, 
for  mine  eyes  have  seen  thy  salvation.'' 

May  these  ideas  of  the    Christian  religion    attach 
us  inviolably   unto  it.     Let   us,   with   Smiepn,  em- 
brace   the    Saviour  of  the  world  ;   let  us,    with  4:he 
wise  men  of  the    East,  present  unto  him  our  gold, 
and  frankincense,  and  myrrh :   or  rather,    let  us  pre- 
sent unto  him    hearts    penetrated   wdth  admiration^ 
with  gratitude,  with  love.   Yes,  divine  Infant,  desire 
of  all  nations,  glory  of  Israel,    Saviour  of  mankind! 
divine  Lifant,  whom   so  many  oracles  have  predict- 
ed, whom  so  many  prophets  have  announced,  whom 
so  many  types  have  represented,    and  whose  radiant 
day   so  many  kings    and    prophets    wxre  desirous  to 
behold  :    my  faith    pierces  through  all    those    veils 
which   overspread  and  conceal   thee:    I  behold,   in 
the  pei'son    of  a  creature  feeble  and  humbled,  my 
God,  and   my  Redeemer  :  I  contemplate  thee  not 
only  as  born  a  few^  days  ago  at  Bethlehem  of  Judah, 
but  subsisting  "  before  the  mountains  were  brought 
forth,  before  the  earth  was  formed,  even  from  ever^ 
lasting  to  everlasting,"  Psalm  xc.  2.     I  behold  thee 
not  only   lying  in  a  manger,  w^rapped  in  swaddling 
clothes,  but  I  behold  thee  seated  on  a  throne  of  glory, 
liighly  exalted^  having  a  name  that  is  above  every  name, 
adored  by  angels  and  seraphims,  encircled  with  rays 
of  divinity. 

Every  powder  of  my  understanding  shall  hence- 
forth be  devoted  to  the  knowledge  of  thee  :  it  shall 
be  my  constant  endeavour  to  please  thee,  my  su- 
preme delight  to  possess  thee  ;  and  it  shall  be  my 
lioblest  ambition  to  prostrate  myself  pne  day  before 

thy 


The  Song  of  Simeon,  27 

thy  throne,  and  to  sing  with  the  inmimerable  mul- 
titudes of  the  redeemed  of  every  nation,  and  people, 
and  tongue  :  Unto  him  who  sitteth  upon  the  throne^ 
and  unto  the  Lamb,  be  honour  and  glory ^  and  poiver, 
for  ever  and  ever.    Amen, 


SEKMON 


SERMON    II- 

Christ's  Valedictory  Address  to  his  Disciples. 


'■■•Oi»e9M' 


John  xiv.  xv.  xvi. 


*  Let  7iot  your  heart  be  troubled :  ye  believe  i?i  God^ 
belie've  also  in  me,  Sfc. 


WE  begin,  this  morning,  with  explaining  to 
you  the  texts  which  refer  to  our  blessed  Sa- 
vour's passion.  If  the  knowledge  of  the  Christian 
be  all  reducible  to  this,  to  know  Jesus  Christ,  and  him 
crucified,  1  Cor.  ii.  2.  it  is  impossible  to  fix  your 
eyes  too  frequently  on  the  mysteries  of  the  cross. 
Very  few  discourses,  accordingly,  are  addressed  to 
you,  in  which  these  great  objects  are  not  brought 
forward  to  view.  Nay,  more  ;  it  is  the  pleasure  of 
this  church,  that,  at  certain  stated  seasons,  the  doc- 
trine of  the  cross,  to  the  exclusion  of  every  other, 
should  be  the  subject  of  our  preaching  :  that  all  the 

circumstances 

*  Those  who  wish  to  derive  benefit  from  the  following  discourse, 
must  previously  peruse,  with  attention,  the  xiv.  xv,  and  xvi.  chap- 
ters of  John's  gospel. 


30     Christ's  Vakdktovy  Address  to  his  DiscipleSi 

circumstances  attending  it  should  be  detailed,  and 
every  view  of  it  displayed.  But  whatever  powers 
may  be  applied  to  the  execution  of  this  work,  it 
cannot  possibly  be  accomplished  within  the  space  of 
a  few  weeks.  We  have  especially  had  to  lament 
that  our  Saviour's  last  address  to  his  disciples  should 
be  omitted.  I  mean  the  discourse  which  he  ad- 
dressed to  them,  a  little  while  before  he  retired  into 
the  garden  of  Gethsemane,  and  which  St  John  has 
preserved  to  us  in  the  xiv.  xv.  and  xvi.  chapters  of 
his  gospel.  This  part  of  the  history  of  the  passion 
is,  unquestionably,  one  of  the  most  tender  and  most 
interesting.  We  propose  to  make  it  pass  in  review 
before  you  this  day,  as  far  as  the  bounds  prescribed 
to  us  will  permit. 

Were  it  proper  to  make  the  place  where  I  stand  a 
Vehicle  for  communications  of  this  kind,  I  am  ready 
ingenuously  to  acknowledge,  that  a  particular  cir- 
cumstance determined  my  choice  on  this  occasion, 
A  fe^  days  only  have  elapsed  since  I  was  called  to 
be  witness  of  the  dying  agonies  of  a  valuable  mi- 
nister *,  whom  Providence  has  just  removed  from 
the  superintendance  of  a  neighbouring  church. 
God  was  pleased  to  visit  him  for  some  months  past, 
if  we  may  presume  to  speak  so,  Vvith  a  temptation, 
more  than  is  common  to  man^  1  Cor.  x,  13.  but  he 
granted  him  a  fortitude  more  than  human  to  support 
it.  I  was  filled  with  astonishment  at  the  violence  of 
his  sufferings  ;  and  still  more  at  the  patience  with 
which  he  endured  them  :  I  could  not  help  expressing 
a  wish  to  know,  what  particular  article  of  religion 
had  contributed  the  most  to  produce  in  him  that 
prodigy  of  resolution  :  Have  you  ever  paid  a  closer  at- 
te?ition,  my  dear  brother,  said  he  to  me,  "  to  the  last  ad- 
dress of  Jesus  Christ  to  his  disciples  ?  My  God,  ex- 
claimed 

*  Mr  Begnon,  pastor  of  the  church  at  Leyder . 


Chrisfs  VaMictory  Address  to  his  Disciples.    ^1 

claimedhe,  what  charity  I  what  tenderness  I  but  above 
all,  what  an  inexhaustible  source  of  consolation  in  the 
extremity  of  distress  "I  His  words  filled  me  with  asto- 
nishment :  my  thoughts  were  immediately  turned 
toward  you,  my  dearly  beloved  brethren ;  and  I 
said  within  myself,  I  must  furnish  my  hearers  with 
this  -powerful  defence  against  suffering  and  death.  I 
enter  this  day  on  the  execution  of  my  design. 
Condescend  to  concur  wdth  me  in  it.  Come  and 
meditate  on  the  last  expressions  which  fell  from  the 
lips  of  a  dying  Saviour ;  let  us  penetrate  into  the 
very  centre  of  that  heart  which  the  sacred  flame  of 
charity  animated, 

I  must  proceed  on  the  supposition  that  your  minds 
are  impressed  with  the  subject  of  the  three  chaptei's 
«f  which  I  am  going  to  attempt  an  analysis.  The 
great  object  which  our  Lord  proposes  to  himself,  in 
this  address,  is  to  fortify  his  disciples  against  the 
temptations  to  which  they  were  about  to  be  ex- 
posed. And,  in  order  to  reduce  our  reflections  to 
distinct  classes,  Jesus  Christ  means  to  fortify  Ifir 
liisciples. 


I.  Against  the  offence  of  his  cross, 

II.  Against  the  persecution  wliich  his.  doctriiiCi 
w^as  going  to  excite. 

III.  Against  forgetfulness  of  his  precepts. 

IV.  Against  sorrow  for  his  absence. 


I.  First,  Jesus  Christ  means  to  fortify  his  disciples 

against  the  offence  of  the  cross.     A  man  must  be  a 

mere  novice  in  the  history  of  the  gospel  if  he  knows 

not  how  extremely  confused  their  ideas  were  witli  re- 

3  spect 


32    Christ^ s  Vakdiciorij  Address  to  his  Disciples, 

spect  to  the  mystery  of  redemption  Those  wh* 
ascribe  to  tViem  superior  ilkimination  are  mistaken 
both  in  the  principle,  and  in  the  consequences 
whicn  they  deduce  from  it.  Their  principle  is,  that 
the  Jewish  church  was  perfectly  well  acquainted 
\vith  the  whole  mystery  of  the  cross  ;  an  opinion 
supported  by  no  historical  monument  whatever. 

But  granting  we  were  to  admit  this  principle,  \vt 
must  of  necessity  resist  the  consequence  deduced 
from  it,  with  respect  to  the  apostles.  It  is  very  pos- 
sible to  have  a  clouded  understanding  amidst  a  lumi-. 
nous  dispensation,  and  to  grovel  in  ignorance  be  the 
age  ever  so  cniigatened.  Had  we  a  mind  to  demon- 
strate to  what  a  degree  the  age  in  which  we  live  sur- 
passes those  which  preceded  it,  whether  in  physical 
discovery,  or  in  metaphysical  and  theological  specu- 
lation, would  we  go  to  collect  our  proofs  among  our 
common  mechanics,  or  from  among  the  fishermen 
who  inhabit  our  sea-ports  ? 

Let  us  call  to  remembrance  the  indiscreet  zeal  of 
Peter,  when  Jesus  Christ  declared  to  him,  "  how  he 
must  go  unto  Jerusalem,  and  suffer  many  things — and 
be  killed,"  Mat.  xvi.  21.  ^^  it  far  from  thee.  Lord:  this 
shall  7iot  be  unto  thee,  ver.  22.  Recollect  the  reply 
which  Jesus  made  to  that  disciple  :  Get  thee  behind 
me,  Satan :  thou  art  an  offence  to  me,  ver.  23-  Re- 
collect farther  the  question  which  the  apostles  put  to 
their  Master  some  time  before  his  ascension  :  Lojd, 
wilt  thou  at  this  time  restore  again  the  kingdom  to  Israel? 
Acts  i.  6,  Above  all,  recollect  the  conversation  which 
passed  between  certain  of  them  immediately  after  his 
resurrection  :  "  w^e  trusted  that  it  had  been  he  which 
should  have  redeemed  Israel :  and  beside  all  this,  to- 
day is  the  third  day  since  these  things  were  done," 
Luke  xxiv.  21 .  You  trusted,  that  it  had  been  he  which 
should  have  redeeined  Israel !  Well  I  and  wherefore 
trust  no  longer  ?  Whence  then  arises  this  diffidence  ? 
1  W'herein 


Christ^s  Vhlfdictory  Address  to  his  Disciples,       33 

Wherein  has  his  promise  failed  ?  What  oracle  of  the 
prophets  has  he  neglected  to  fulfil  ?  "  O  fools,  and 
*'  slow  of  heart  to  beHeve  all  that  the  prophets  have 
**  spoken  I  Ought  not  Christ  to  have  suffered  these 
"  things,  and  to  enter  into  his  glory  ?"  ver.  25,  26. 

Taking  it  for  granted,  then,  that  the  apostles  had 
but  confused  ideas  of  the  mystery  of  the  cross,  what 
offence  must  they  not  have  taken,   when  they  were 
called  to  be  the  witnesses  of  that  fearful  spectacle  I 
From  our  being  accustomed  to  hear  the  punishment 
of  crucifixion  spoken  of  in  terms  of  high  dignity,  we 
lose  sight  of  what  was  ignominious  and  humiliating 
in  it.     Represent  to  yourself  a  man  whom  you  had 
made  the  centre,  the  fixed  point  of  all  your  hopes* 
Represent  to  yourself  a  man,  a  God  man,  to  whom 
you  had  been  accustomed  to  yield  all  the  homage  of 
adoration  :  represent  to  yourself  this  divine  personage, 
whom  you  believed  to  have  descended  from  heaven 
to  remedy  the  woes  of  mankind  ;  to  remove  youi  pri- 
vate distresses  ;  to  re-establish  your  credit,  and  to  re> 
store  to  your  country  all  its  splendour  and  all  its  im- 
portance :  represent  to  yourself  this  divine  personage 
bound  by  the  hands  of  an  insolent  rabble  ;  dragged 
along  from  one  tribunal  to  another ;  condemned  as  a 
felon,  and  nailed  to  a  tree.     Can  this  be  that  Mes- 
siah, into  whose  hand  God  was  to  put  a  '*  rod  of  iron 
"  to  break  the  nations,  and  to  dash  them  in  pieces 
•'  like  a  potter's  vessel?'*  Ps.  ii.  9.     Can  this  be  that 
Messiah  who  should  "  have   dominion  from  sea  to 
*'  sea,  and  from  the  river  unto  the  ends  of  the  earth?" 
Ps.  Ixxii.  8.     Can  this  be  the  Messiah  who  was  to 
make  us  "  sit  on  thrones,  judging  the   twelve   tribes 
'*  of  Israel?"  Luke  xxii.  SO.     As  this  was  the  grand 
offence  with  the  apostles,  their  Master  supplies  them 
with  more  thr.n  one  buckler  to  repel  it. 

I.  The  first  buckler  for  repelling^  the  offence  of 
the  cross--The  miserable  condition  of  a  lost  world. 
*'  I  tell  vou  the  truth  ;  it  is  f-xpcdient  for  you  that  I 

Vol/VL  D  "  go 


'34      Christ'' s  Vahdictoiy  Address  to  Jus  Disciples, 

"go  away ;  for  if  I  go  not  away,  the  Comforter  will 
"  not  come  mito  you,"  ch.  xvi.  7.  Had  not  Jesus 
Christ  been  oiiered  in  sacrifice,  there  had  been  no 
Comforter,  and  no  consolation  for  the  wretched  pos- 
terity of  Adam.  The  anger  of  a  righteous  God  was 
kindled  against  them.  They  had  nothing  to  look 
for  from  heaven,  but  thunderbolts  and  an  horrible 
tempest^  to  crush  their  guilty  heads.  On  the  cross  it 
w^as  that  Jesus  Christ  restored  a  blessed  correspond- 
ence between  heaven  and  earth  :  "  for  it  pleased  the 
"  Father,  that  in  hnii  should  all  fulness  dwell ;  and, 
"  having  made  peace  through  the  blood  of  his  cross, 
*'  by  him  to  reconcile  all  things  unto  hinibelf,  whe- 
"  ther  they  be  things  in  earth,  or  things  in  heaven;" 
Col.  i.  19,  20. 

i2.  The  second  buckler  against  the  offence  of  the 
cross— The  downfal  of  the  enemy  of  mankind,  I 
mean  the  Devil  and  his  angels  :  "  the  prince  of  this 
"  world  is  judged,"  ch.  xiv.  30.  xvi.  11.  The  cruci- 
fixion of  the  Redeemer  of  the  w^orld,  it  is  true, 
seemed -to  complete  the  triumph  of  Satan,  but  it  w^as, 
in  reality,  pr-ecisely  the  point  of  his  decline  and  fall. 
He  bruised  the  heel  of  the  promised  seed,  but  Jesu!r; 
Christ  bruised  his  head.  Gen.  iii.  15.  On  the  cross 
it  was  that  Jesus  executed  the  design  of  his  coming 
into  the  w^orld,  namely,  to  destroy  the  works  of  the 
Devil,  1  John  iii.  8.  On  the  cross  it  was  that  Jesus 
Christ  poured  out  the  precious  blood  which  was  go- 
ing to  becoine  the  true  seed  of  the  church.  On  the 
cross  it  was  that  he  dashed  dovvii  to  the  ground  the 
trophies  of  idolatry,  and  there  he  "  spoiled  principa- 
"  lities  and  powers,  and  made  a  shew  of  them  open  - 
"  ly,  triumphing  over  them  in  it,"  Col.  ii.  15. 

S.  The  third  buckler  against  the  offence  of  tiie 
cross — The  sovereign  command  of  his  heavenly  Fa- 
tlier:  "  the  prince  of  this  woild  cometh,  and  hath 
"  nothing  in  me.  But  that  the  world  may  know  that 
"  I  love  the  Fatlier  ;  and  as  the  Father  gave  me  com- 

"  mand  ■ 


Christ's  Valedictory  Address  to  his  Disciples,      35 

*'  mandment,  even  so  I  do,"  chap.  xiv.  30,  31.  What 
was  the  commandment  given  of  the  Father  to  Jesus 
Christ  ?  You  know  it,  my  brethren ;  the  commission 
which  he  had  given  him,  was  to  deliver  from  the 
dreadful  abysses  of  hell  a  world  of  miserable  wretches, 
vvhom  divine  justice  had  there  doomed  to  undergo 
the  punishment  of  everlasting  fire.  This  was  the  su- 
preme will  which  the  Redeemer  had  continually  be- 
fore his  eyes.  For  this  it  was  that  he  saith,  when  he 
Cometh  into  the  w^orld  :  *'  Sacrifice  and  offering  thou 
"  didst  not  desire  :  but  a  body  hast  thou  prepared  for 
"  me :  burnt-offering  and  sin-offering  hast  thou  not 
''  required  :  then  said  I,  Lo,  1  come :  in  the  volume 
^'  of  the  book  it  is  written  of  me  :  I  delight  to  do  thy 
**  will,  O  my  God,"  Ps.  xL  6,  7,  8.  For  this  it  was 
that  dismayed,  and  cast  down,  as  it  were  to  the  ground 
at  Gethsemane,  at  the  bare  apprehension  of  approach- 
ing  sufferings,  he  prayed,  saying :  "  O  my  Father,  if 
"  it  be  possible,  let  this  cup  pass  from  me,"  but  im- 
mediately added,  "  nevertheless,  not  as  I.  will,  but  as 
*'  thou  wilt,"  Matt.  xxvi.  39. 

4.  The  fourth  buckler  against  the  offence  of  the 
cross — The  idea  of  the  storm  which  was  ready  to 
burst  on  ihe  authors  of  those  sufferings,  and  upon  a 
whole  guilty  nation  which  had  obstinately  rejected 
his  ministry  :  "  If  I  had  not  come,  and  spoken  unto 
*'  them,  they  had  not  had  sin :  but  now  they  have  no 
*'  cloke  for  their  sin.  He  that  hateth  me,  hateth  vaj 
"  Father  also,"  ch.  xv.  22,  23.  This  parricide  filled 
up  the  measure  of  the  incredulity  and  barbarity  of 
the  Jews  :  it  was  going  to  put  the  last  hand  to  an  ac- 
cumulation of  criminality.  But  let  not  the  impa- 
tience of  the  fiesh  hurry  the  spirit  into  the  formation 
of  precipitate  judgment :  let  not  the  libertine  and  the 
profane  here  display  their  abominable  system  :  let 
them  not  say,  as  they  point  to  the  cross  of  the  Savi- 
our, on  which  innocence  is  immolated  to  iniquity, 
Where  i^  that  Providence  which  guides  the  helm  of 

D  ^  *  tlie 


36      Chj'isfs  Valedictory  Address  to  his  Disciples. 

the  universe  ?  Where  are  those  eyes  which  go  up  and 
down  through  the  earth,  to  contemplate  the  actions 
of  men?  Where  is  that  righteous  Judge  of  all  the 
earth,  ever  ready  to  administer  justice  ?  Have  a  little 
patience,  and  you  shall  see,  that  as  this  parricide  con- 
stituted the  most  atrocious  of  all  crimes,  it  v/as  like- 
wise speedily  followed  by  the  most  tremendous  of  all 
punishments.  You  shall  behold  the  accomplishment 
of  that  prophetic  denunciation  :  "  Daughters  of  Jeru- 
"  salem,  weep  not  for  me,  but  weep  for  yourselves  and 
"  for  your  children,"  Luke  xxiii.  28.  You  shall  be- 
hol4  the  Jews  driven  to  desperation,  imploring  assis- 
tance from  the  rocks  and  from  the  mountains,  to  shel- 
ter them  from  the  strokes  of  that  divine  vengeance 
which  pursues  them :  you  shall  behold  that  Jerusar 
lem,  that  murderess  of  the  prophets,  deluged  with 
her  own  blood  :  two  millions  of  Jews  offered  in  sacri- 
fice to  the  justice  of  that  God,  who  requires  at  their 
hands  the  blood  of  the  Messiah. 

5.  The  fifth  buckler  against  the  offence  of  the  cross 
— The  spectacle  of  charity  which  Jesus  Christ  presents 
to  his  disciples :  '*  Greater  love  hath  no  man  than 
*'  this,  that  a  man  lay  down  his  life  for  his  friends," 
ch.  XV.  13.  Accordingly,  when  this  divine  Saviour 
had  arrived  at  the  period  of  his  death,  and  had 
formed,  if  I  may  use  the  expression,  the  ultimate  re- 
solution to  die,  every  fiood-gate  of  his  charity  is  set 
open  :  from  this  fountain  of  love,  whence  emanated 
the  heroic  purpose  of  immolating  himself  fpr  his 
disciples,  we  behold  every  other  proof  of  affection 
gushing  out  in  copious  streams :  **  Henceforth  I  call 
**  you  not  servants,  for  the  servant  knoweth  not  what 
"  his  lord  doth  :  but  I  have  called  you  friends ;  for  all 
"  things  that  I  have  heard  of  my  Father  I  have 
"  made  known  unto  you,"  ch.  xv.  15.  If  you  have 
been  faithful  to  me  while  I  was  giving  you  strong 
proofs  of  my  tenderness,  is  it  pos^ble  you  should 
be  unfaithful,  now  that  I  am  preparing  to  gvxo.  you  a 

demonstration 


Christ's  Valediciory  Address  to  his  Disciples,     37 

demonstration  of  it  still  more  irresistable  ?  Is  it  pos- 
sible jou  should  choose  the  time  of  my  crucifixion  to 
betray  me  ?  Is  it  possible  you  should  deny  your  Re- 
deemer, precisely  at  the  moment  when  he  is  dying  to 
accomplish  the  work  of  your  redemption  ? 

II.  Our  blessed  Lord  having  spoken,  to  the  disci- 
ples, of  the  cross  which  he  was  about  to  suffer,  and 
this  is  the  second  article  of  meditation,  proceeds  to 
speak  to  them  concerning  their  own.  He  disguises 
not  either  the  horror  or  the  weight  of  it :  "  These 
*'  things  I  have  spoken  unto  you,  that  you  should  not 
*'  be  offended.  They  shall  put  you  out  of  the  syna-  ' 
"  gogues :  yea,  the  time  cometh,  that  whosoever  kilU 
•^  eth  you  will  think  that  he  doth  God  service,"  ch. 
xvi.  1,  2.  But  while  he  utters  a  prediction  so  melan- 
choly and  discouraging,  he  softens  it,  and  supplies 
them  with  motives  the  best  adapted  to  fortify  and 
sustain  them  against  the  fearful  accomplishment  of 
it.  The  objects  which  Jesus  Christ  presents  to  the 
eyes  of  his  disciples,  in  the  three  chapters  which  we 
are  attempting  to  analyze,  are  the  same  which  have 
supported  our  own  martyrs  and  confessors  in  this  age 
of  fire  and  blood,  when  the  enemies  of  religion  have 
taken  for  their  models  the  persecutors  of  Christ  and 
of  his  apostles. 

I  suffer,  I  die  for  the  gospel,  said  our  confessors  and 
martyrs  within  themselves,  in  the  extremity  of  their 
sufferings  :  I  suffer,  I  die  for  the  gospel ;  it  is  my  high- 
est glory ;  it  is  my  badge  of  conformity  to  my  adora- 
ble Saviour :  **  I  fill  up  that  which  is  behind  of  the 
"  afflictions  of  Christ  in  my  flesh,"  Col.  i.  24.  "  I 
**  bear  in  my  body  the  marks  of  the  Lord  Jesus," 
GaL^i.  ,17.  It  is  one  of  the  motives  which  our  Lord 
liimself  proposes  to  his  apostles  :  "  if  the  world  hate 
'•you,  ye  know  that  it  hated  me  before  it  hated  you. 
*4The  servant  is  not  greater  than  the  lord.  If  they 
V  have  persecuted  me,  they  v/ill  also  persecute  you  " 
ch.  XV.  18.  20. 


38      Chrises  Valedictory  Address  to  Ms  Disciples. 

I  suffer,  I  die  for  the  gospel.  The  world  places 
before  me  a  theatre  of  misery  and  persecution  only  : 
but  it  is  because  I  am  not  of  this  world.  I  am  look- 
ing and  longing  for  another  establishment  of  things, 
and  every  stroke  aimed  at  me  by  the  men  of  the 
world,  is  a  pledge  of  my  being  a  citizen  of  another, 
of  a  heavenly  country.  This  is  a  farther  motive  sug- 
gested by  Jesus  Christ  to  his  disciples  :  "  If  ye  were 
"  of  the  world,  the  world  would  love  his  own  :  but 
"  because  ye  are  not  of  the  world,  but  1  have  chosen 
",  you  out  of  the  world,  therefore  the  world  hateth 
"  you,"  ch.  XV.  19. 

1  suffer,  I  die  for  the  gospel.  How  glorious  it  is 
for  a  man  to  devote  himself  in  such  a  cause  ?  How 
glorious  it  is  to  be  the  martyr  of  truth  and  of  vir- 
tue I  Our  Lord  suggests  this  likewise  as  a  motive  to 
his  disciples  :  "  all  these  things  will  they  do  unto  you 
"  for  my  name's  sake,  because  they  know  not  him 
"  who  sent  me,"  ch.  xv.  21. 

I  suffer,  I  die  for  the  gospel ;  but  God  is  witness 
of  my  sufferings  and  death :  he  feels  every  stroke 
which  falls  upon  me  :  "  he  who  toucheth  me  toucheth 
*'  the  apple  of  his  eye,"  Zech.  ii.  8.  And  as  he  is  the 
witnesS|of  the  barbarity  of  my  torm^entors,  he  will 
likewise  be  the  judge  and  the  avenger.  This  like- 
wise is  a  motive  suggested  by  our  Lord  to  his  dis- 
ciples :  "  he  that  hateth  me  hateth  my  Father  also," 
chap.  XV.  23. 

1  suffer,  I  die  for  the  gospel :  but  I  have  before 
my  eyes  the  great  pattern  of  patience  and  fortitude. 
I  derive  the  support  which  I  need  from  the  same 
source  whence  my  Saviour  derived  his :  I  look  to 
"  the  Author  and  Finisher  of  my  faith,  who,  for  the 
*'  joy  set  before  him,  endured  the  cross,  despising  the 
^*  shame,"  Heb.  xii.  2.  and  I  aspire  after  the  same 
triumph.  This  is  a  motive  suggested  by  Jesus  Christ 
to  his  disciples :  "  in  the  world  ye  shall  have  tribu- 
^'  lation  :  but  be  of  good  cheer,  i  have  overcome  the 

*'  world," 


Christ's  Valedictory  Address  to  his  Disciples',     39 

"  world,"  chap.  xvi.  33.  What  cross  would  not  ap- 
pear Hght,  wlien  the  mind  is  supported  by  motives 
so  powerful  ? 

-III.  We  observed,  in  the  third  place,  that  our 
blessed  Lord  is,  in  this  address,  cautioning  his  disci- 
ples against  forgetfulness  of  his  commandments,. 
The  presence  of  a  good  pastor  is  a  bulwark  agaiii^it 
error  and  vice.  The  respect  which  he  commands  by 
his  exemplary  conduct,  and  the  lustre  whictf  his  su  -. 
perior  intelligence  diffuses,  impress  truth  upon  the. 
understanding,  and  transfuse  virtue  into  the  heart.. 
He  has  his  eyes  ever  open  upon  the  various  avenues 
through  which  the  enemy  could  find  admission  into- 
the  field  of  the  Lord,  to  sow  it  with  tares,  and  by  the 
exercise  of  constant  vigilance  defeats  the  cunning  of 
the  wicked  one. 

Conformably  to  this  idea,  one  of  the  most 
grievous  solicitudes  which,  at  a  dying  hour,  have 
oppressed  the  minds  of  those  extraordinary  men  to 
whom  God  committed  the  oversight  of  his  church, 
proceeded  from  the  apprehension  of  that  corruption 
into  which  their  charge  was  in  danger  of  falling  after 
their  own  departure :  and  the  object  of  their  most 
anxious  concern  has  been  to  prevent  this.  Behold. 
Moses  approaching  the  last  closing  scene  of  life  : 
"  Take  this  book  of  the  law,"  says  he  to  the  Levites, 
"  and  put  it  in  the  side  of  the  ark  of  the  covenant  of  the 
"  Lord  your  God,  that  it  may  be  there  for  a  witness 
''  against  thee :  for  1  know  thy  rebellion  and  thy  stiff- 
*'  neck  :  behold,  while  I  am  yet  alive  with  you  this 
*'  day,  ye  have  been  rebellious  against  the  Lord  ;  and 
"  how  much  more  after  my  death  ?"  Deut.  xxxi.  26,- 
27.  Behold  St  Paul :  consider  the  terrors  which  he 
feels  as  he  prepares  to  go  up  to  .Terusalem  :  it  is  not- 
that  of  being  made  a  partaker  of  his  Master's  suffer- 
ings :,  "  no,"  says  he,  "  the  Holy  Ghost  wltnesseth  in 
"-  every  city,  saying,  that  bonds  and  afflictions  abide. 
''  me  at. Jerusalem,  ,  R>it  iione  of  the$e  things  mpya- 
iW'f  •  '  ''  me. 


40     Christ's  Valedictory  Address  to  his  Biscipla . 

*'  me,  neither  count  I  my  life  dear  unto  myself,  so  that 
**  I  might  finish  my  course  with  joy,  and  the  ministry 
*'  which  I  have  received  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  to  testify 
**  the  gospel  of  the  grace  of  God,"  Acts  xx.  23,  ^4- 
But  that  which  fills  him  with  painful  apprehension  is 
the  danger  of  apostatizing  to  which  his  beloved  Ephe- 
sians,  among  w^hom  he  has  been  so  successful,  were 
going  to  be  exposed  after  he  had  left  them  :  for  this 
reason  it  is,  that  in  bidding  them  a  final  adieu,  he  ex- 
presses an  ardent  wish  that  a  last  effort  should  indeli- 
bly impress  on  their  hearts  the  great  truths  which  had 
been  the  subject  of  his  ministry  among  them  :  *■  I  take 
*'  you  to  record  this  day,  that  1  am  pure  from  the 
*^  blood  of  all  men  :  for  I  have  not  shunned  to  declare 
*'  unto  you  all  the  counsel  of  God.  Take  heed  therefore 
*^  unto  yourselves,  and  to  all  the  flock  over  which  the 
*■  Holy  Ghost  hath  made  you  overseers,  to  feed  the  - 
f'. church  of  God,  which  he  hath  purchased  wdth  his 
'*  own  blood.  For  I  know  this,  that  after  my  depart- 
''  ing  shall  grievous  wolves  enter  in  among  you,  not 
**  sparing  the  flock,"  Acts  xx.  26 — 29. 

Jesus  Christ,  in  like  manner,  is  ready  to  finish  the 
work  which  his  heavenly  Father  has  given  him  to 
do :  he  shrinks  from  it  no  longer :  he  advances  for- 
ward^ braving  the  cross,  being  "  now  ready  to  be  offer- 
*'  ed,"  2  Tini.  i\^.  6.  Arise,  says  he  to  them,  arise ; 
(he  was  still  in  the  house  where  he  had  just  eaten  the 
j)assover,  when  he  pronounced  the  discourse  which 
we  are  endeavouring  to  explain)  let  us  go  hence, 
ch.  xiv,  31.  I  must  pass  no  more  time  wdth  my  be- 
loved disciples  i  I  am  going  to  be  delivered  up  to 
my  executioners:  I  must  no  more  drink  wdth  you  o/" 
the  fruit  of  the  vine,  Luke  xxii.  18.  in  a  feast  of 
love ;  it  is  time  for  me  to  go  and  drink  to  the  very 
dregs  the  cup  v^rhich  the  justice  of  my  Father  is  put- 
ting into  pny  hands  :  let  us  go  hence :  let  us  go  to 
Gethsemane  :  let  us  ascend  to  Golgotha.  But,  "  Si- 
*^  mon,  jSimon,  behold,  Satan  hath  desi^pd  to  have  you, 
'  "  t^iat 


Christ's  Maledictory  Address  to  his  Disciples.     4I 

*'  that  he  may  sift  you  as  wheat/'  Luke  xxii.  31-  But, 
*'  all  ye  shall  be  offended  because  of  me  this  night," 
Matt.  xxvi.  31.  But,  the  Devil,  and  the  worlds  and  all 
hell,  are  going  to  unite  their  efforts  to  dissolve  your 
communion  with  me.  What  does  he  oppose  to  danger 
jio  threatening  ?  What  means  does  he  employ  to  pre- 
vent it  ?  What  ought  to  be  done  by  a  good  pastor 
when  stretched  on  a  death-bed:  not  only  earnest 
prayers  addressed  to  heaven,  but  also  tender  exhorta- 
tions addressed  to  men.  He  gives  them  an  abridge- 
ment of  the  sermons  which,  during  the  period  of  his 
intercourse  with  them,  had  been  the  subject  of  his 
ministrations  :  "  if  ye  love  me,  keep  my  command- 
"  ments,"  ch.  xiv.  15, 

But  what  merits  special  attention  in  the  last  adr 
dress  of  Jesus  Christ  to  his  apostles,  is  the  precept 
on  which  he  particularly  insists :  and  the  subject  of 
that  precept  is  charity :  "  by  this  shall  all  men  know 
"  that  ye  are  ipy  disciples,  if  ye  have  love  one  to  an- 
*'  other,"  ch.  xiii.  35.  "  A  new  commandment  I  give 
"  unto  you,  that  ye  love  one  another ;  as  I  have  love4 
"  you,  that  ye  also  love  one  another,"  ver.  34. ;  a  pre- 
cept which  they  were  bound  to  observe  as  ChristiaiRS, 
t^nd  more  especially  as  minsters  of  his  gospel. 

1.  As  Christians:  without  charity  Christianity  can- 
not possibly  subsist.  A  society,  the  individuals  of 
which  do  not  love  each  other,  cannot  be  a  society  of 
the  disciples  of  Jesus  Christ.  Tell  me  not  of  your 
passing  whole  days  and  nights  in  meditation  and 
reading  the  scriptures ;  of  your  uninterrupted  assi- 
duity in  exercises  of  devotion ;  of  your  fervor  and 
frequency  of  attendance  at  the  table  of  the  Lord. 
The  question  still  recurs,  Where  is  thy  charity? 
Lovest  thou  thy  neighbour.^  Makest  thou  his  in- 
terests thy  own  ?  Is  his  prosperity  a  source  of  satis- 
faction to  thee }  Canst  thou  bear  with  and  overlook 
his  infirmities  ?  Respectest  thou,  recommendest  thou 
his  excellencies  ?    Befendest   thou   his   reputation  ? 

Laboure§t 


42      Christ's  Valiidictory  Address  to  his  DiscipIeL 

LaljDurest  thou  to  promote  his  salvation  ?  Such 
questions  are  so  many  touchstones  to  assist  us  in  at- 
taining the  knowledge  of  ourselves  :  so  many  articles 
of  condemnation  to  multitudes  who  bear  the  Chris- 
tian name.  Of  charity,  alas,  little  more  is  known 
than  the  name  :  and  the  whole  amount  of  the  practice 
of  it.  is  reduced  to  a  few  of  the  functions  altogether 
inseparable  from  mere  humanity  :  when  a  man  has 
given  away  a  small  portion  of  his  superfluity  to  re- 
lieve the  poor ;  when  he  has  bestowed  a  morsel  of 
bread  to  feed  that  starving  wretch  :  when  he  has 
covered  those  shivering  limbs  from  the  inclemency 
of  the  air,  he  considers  himself  as  having  satisfied  the. 
demands  of  charity  :  he  founds,  shall  1  venture  to  say 
it  ?.  he>founds  on  this  symptom  of  love  a  title  to  w^t- 
rant  his  indifference,  his  vengeance,  his  hatred  :  he 
backbites  without  control,  he  calumniates  without  he- 
sitation, he  plunges  the  dagger  without  remorse:  he 
pines  at  the  prosperity  of  another,  and  his  neighbour's 
glory  clothes  him  with  shame. 

2.  But  if  the  disciples  of  Jesus  Christ  are  engaged 
as  Christians  to  love  one  another,  they  more  especi- 
ally are  so  as  ministers  of  the  gospel.  Where  are 
we  to  look  for  charity,  if  not  in  the  heart  of  those 
who  are  the  heralds  of  charity  ?  What  monster  so  de- 
testable as  a  minister  destitute  of  charity  !  The  more 
that  charity  is  inculcated  by  the  religion  which  he- 
professes  to  teach,  the  more  it  must  expose  him  as 
a**tnost  unnatural  being,  if  he  is  capable  of  resisting 
the  power  of  motives  so  tender.  The  more  vene-, 
rlible  that  his  ministry  is,  the  more  liable  must  it  be 
to*  Suspicion  and  contempt,  when  exercised  by  a  man 
\^ho  is  himself  a  stranger  to  charity.  He  wdll  warp 
live  truths  of  religion  according  to  seasons  and  cir- 
oumstances :  he  will  accommodate  his  preaching  to- 
liis  interest :  he  will  carry  his  passions  with  him  into, 
the  pulpit :  he  wdll  conceal  the  heart  of  a  wolf  un- 
<ier  the  clothing  of  a  sheep,  and.  will  avail  himself  of 

the 


Christ's  Valedictory  Address  to  his  Disciples,       43 

the  law  of  charity  itself,  to  diffuse  through  the 
whole  church  the  pestilential  air  of  that  hatred,  ani- 
mosity, and  envy,  which  torment  and  prey  upon  his 
own  mind. 

It  was,  in  a  peculiar  manner,  the  desire  of  Jesu-s 
Christ,  that  charity  should  be  the  reigning  principle 
in  the  college  of  the  apostles,  that,  united  together 
in  bands  of  the  tenderest  affection,  they  might  lend 
each  other  effectual  support  in  the  great  v^^ork  of 
publishing  the  gospel.  Never  does  the  Devil  labour 
with  more  success  against  a  church,  than  when  he 
acquires  the  power  of  disuniting  the  ministers  who 
have  the  oversight  of  it.  Call  to  the  pastoral  charge 
of  a  flock  persons  of  the  greatest  celebrity,  preach- 
ers the  most  eloquent,  geniuses  the  most  transcend- 
ent, unless  they  are  closely  united  in  the  bands  of 
charity,  small  will  be  their  progrees :  they  will  se- 
parate the  hearts  which  they  were  bound  to  unite  ; 
they  will  foster  the  spirit  of  party  ;  they  will  encou- 
rage the  fomenters  of  discord  ;  they  will  instruct  one 
to  say,  I  am  of  Paul  ;  and  another,  /  cwi  of  Cephas  ; 
and  another,  /  am  of  Apollos,  1  Cor.  ill.  4.  They 
will  be  in  constant  mutual  opposition.  Apollos  will 
do  his  utmost  to  pull  down  what  Ceplias  had  built 
up  :  Cephas  will  attempt  to  rear  what  Paul  had  de- 
molished. Discover  the  art,  on  the  contrary,  of  uni- 
ting the  hearts  of  those  who  have  the  care  of  a  flock, 
and  you  ensure  their  success :  they  will  strengthen 
each  others  hands ;  they  will  attack  the  common  ene- 
my with  concentrated  force ;  they  will  concur  in  pur- 
suing the  same  object.  "  A  new  commandment  I 
'*  give  unto  you,  that  ye  love  one  another.  By  this 
"  shall  all  mien  know  that  ye  are  my  disciples,  if  ye 
"  have  love  one  to  another."  O  charity  I  the  livery 
of  the  disciples  of  Jesus  Christ,  must  it  needs  be  that 
thou  shouldst  be  as  rare  as  thou  art  indispensable  I  Ba- 
nished from  the  rest  of  the  universe,  flee  for  refuge 
to  the  church.     Exert  thy  sovereign  power  at  least  in 

the 


44      Christ's  Valedictory  Address  to  his  Disciples, 

the  sanctuary.  Bind  together  in  bands  of  indisso- 
luble affection  the  shepherds  of  this  flock.  Let  all 
animosity,  let  discord,  let  envy,  be  for  ever  banished 
from  the  midst  of  us,  my  beloved  companions  in  the 
work  of  the  ministry,  Eph.  iv.  12.     Amen. 


45 


Christ's  Valedictory  Address  to  his  Discipks. 
PART   II. 


John  xiv.  1. 

Let  not  your  heart  be  troubled:  ye  believe  in  God; 
believe  also  in  me, 

IV.  npHE  fourth  and  last  great  end  which  our 
blessed  Lord  had  in  view,  in  addressing  this 
farewell  discourse  to  his  disciples,  was  to  furnish  them 
v/ith  supplies  of  consolation  under  the  sorrow  which 
his  absence  was  going  to  excite  in  them.  This  sor- 
row is  one  of  those  dispositions  of  the  soul  which  no 
powers  of  language  are  capable  of  expressing.  The 
apostles  tenderly  loved  their  Master.  Though  the 
history  of  their  life  had  not  conveyed  to  us  this  idea 
of  them ;  though  the  gospel  had  not  traced,  for  our 
information,  certain  particular  traits  of  their  affection; 
had  nothing  been  mentioned  of  the  tenderness  of 
the  disciple  whom  Jesus  loved,  nothing  of  the  vehe- 
mence of  St  Peter,  always  ready  to  kindle  into  a  flame 
when  the  glory  and  the  life  of  his  Master  were  con- 
cerned, the  very  nature  of  the  thing  would  be  suffici- 
ent to  give  us  the  assurance  of  it.  Who  could  have 
known  Jesus  Christ  without  loving  him? 

Is  it  possible  to  conceive  the  idea  of  a  character 
more  amiable?   Have  you  found  in  the  history  of 
those  excellent  ones,  who  were  the  delight  of  man- 
kind 


4.{i     Chris fs  Valedictonj  Address  to  his  Disciples, 

kind  ;  or  even  in  the  productions  of  those  who  have 
communicated  to  us  imaginary  ideas  of  excellency 
and  perfection,  have  you  found  in  these  higher  m- 
stances  of  deHcacy,  of  magnanimity,  of  cordial  af- 
fection ?  If  it  be  impossible  for  you  to  apply  your 
thoughts  to  this  great  object  without  being  transport- 
ed, what  must  have  been  the  feelings  of  the  disciples? 
Continual  hearers  of  the  gracious  words  winch  fell 
from  the  lips  of  the  blessed  Jesus,  the  constant  wit- 
nesses of  his  virtues,  the  spectators  of  his  wonderful 
works,  admitted  to  the  most  intimate  familiarity  with 
him,  and  honoured  with  the  most  unbounded  confi- 
dence, what  must  have  been  the  love  to  him  v/hich 
inflamed  their  hearts  ?  Now  this  is  the  gracious 
Master,  this  the  delicious  intercourse,  this  the  tender- 
hearted Friend  whom  they  are  going  to  lose. 

What  charm  can  the  world  possess  after  we  have 
had  the  infelicity  of  surviving  certain  persons  who 
were  dear  to  us?  No,  neither  the  mourning  of  Joseph, 
w^hen  he  accompanied  v/ith  tears  to  the  threshing-floor 
ofAtad  the  coffin  of  Jacob  his  father.  Gen.  i,  10.;  no, 
nor  the  loud  lamentation  of  David,  when  he  exclaimed, 
in  an  agony  of  Vv^oe,  "  O  my  son  Absalom;  my  son, 
*'  m^y  son  Absalom,  would  God  I  had  died  for  thee : 
"  O  Absalom,  my  son,  my  son  I"  2  Sam.  xviii.  33.; 
no,  nor  the  anguish  of  Rachel  weeping  for  her  chil- 
dren^ and  refusing  to  he  conforted  because  they  are  not. 
Matt.  ii.  18. :  No,  nothing  is  capable  of  conveying  an 
idea  of  the  condition  to  which  the  disciples  were  go- 
ing to  be  reduced  on  beholding  their  Master  expire. 
One  must  have  survived  Jesus  Christ  in  order  to  be 
sensible  what  it  is  to  survive  Jesus  Christ.  This  fa- 
tal stroke  was  to  become  to  them  an  inexhaustible 
fountain  of  tears.  This  death  appeared  to  them  the 
utter  annihilation  of  all  things :  it  seemed  as  if  the 
whole  universe  were  dying  together  with  him.  "  Now 
■'  I  go  my  v;ay  to  him  that  sent  me;  and  none  of  you 
"  asketh  me,  Whither  goest  thou?  but  because  1  have 

"  said 


rChrist's  Valedictory  Address. to  his  Disciples.    47 

'*  said  these  things  unto  yovi,  sorrow  hath  filled  your 
"  hearts,"  ch.  xvi.  !S,^.  "  A  little  while  and  ye  shall 
''.not  see  me,"  ver.  l6.  "Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto 
"you,  Ye  shall  weep  and  lament,  but  the  world  shall 
"  rejoice  ;  and  ye  shall  be  sorrowful,"  ver.  20. 

There  can  be  no  room  to  doubt  that  Jesus  Christ, 
who  himself  loves  with  so  much  delicacy  of  affec- 
tion, and  who  was  animated  with  such  a  predilection 
in  behalf  of  his  disciples,  tenderly  participated  in  their 
sorrow.  As  the  loss,  which  they  were  about  to  sus- 
tain, was  the  deepest  wound  in  their  soul,  he  pours 
into  it  the  most  powerful  balm  of  divine  consolation. 
And  here,  my  dearly  beloved  brethren,  here  it  is  that 
1  stand  in  need  of,  not  all  the  attention  of  your  intel- 
lectual powers,  but  of  ail  the  sensibility  of  which  your 
heart  is  susceptible,  that  while  you  partake  in  the 
sorrow  of  the  apostles,  you  may  likewise  partake  with 
them  in  the  consolation  which  their  Lord  and  ours 
was  pleased  to  administer. 

I  shall  sometimes  turn  aside  from  those  holy  men, 
my  dear  hearers,  to  address  myself  to  you,  and  to  sup- 
ply you  with  abundant  consolation,  under  the  most 
oppressive  ills  which  you  may  be  called  to  endure  on 
the  earth  ;  1  mean  under  the  loss  of  those  who  wcri^ 
most  dear  to  you  in  life.  I  could  wish  to  convince 
you,  that  the  Christian  religion,  is  profitable  for  all 
t/ii/igs  :  that  it  will  serve  us  as  a  bulwark  and  a  re- 
fuge in  our  greatest  sorrows,  if  v/e  have  but  the  wis- 
dom to  resort  to  it.  Only  take  care  to  apply,  every 
one  to  his  own  particular  situation,  the  truths  which  I 
am  going  to  propose  to  you.  Derive  ^your  consoia-- 
tions  from  the  same  sources  which  Jesus  Christ  open- 
ed to  his  disciples,  and  to  a  participation  of  which  we 
now,  after  his  example,  cordially  invite  you  :  prayer^ 
the  mission  of  the  Comforter,  the  place  to  which  your 
Redeemer  is  gone,  tha  foretastes,  of  the  glory  which 
he  is  there  preparing  for  you,  his  spiritual  presence  ia 
Uic  midst  of  you,  and  the  certainty  and  nearness  of 
hi$  return.  1.  In 


48    Christy's  Valedictory  xiddress  to  his  Disciple-, 

1.  In  all  your  distresses  have  recourse  to  prayer. 
*'  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you^  Whatsoever  ye  shall 
**  ask  the  Father,  in  my  name,  he  will  give  it  you. 
''  Hitherto  ye  have  asked  nothing  in  my  name :  ask, 
*'  and  ye  shall  receive,  that  your  joy  may  be  full," 
ch.  xvi.  23,  24.  This  ought  to  be  adopted  as  a  new 
form  of  prayer  in  the  Christian  world.  Scarcely  do 
we  find  any  trace  of  it  in  the  devotions  of  the  faith- 
ful of  ancient  times.  They  indeed  sometimes  intro- 
duced the  names  of  Abraham,  of  Isaac,  and  of  Jacob ; 
but  no  where,  except  in  the  prophecy  of  Daniel,  do 
we  find  a  prayer  put  up  in  the  name  of  the  Messiah. 
This  at  least  is  the  sense  which  may  be  assigned  to 
those  words  of  that  prophet :  *'  Now,  therefore,  O  our 
'•  God,  hear  the  prayer  of  thy  servant,  and  his  sup- 
"  plication,  and  cause  thy  face  to  shine  upon  thy 
'•'  sanctuary,  that  is  desolate,  for  the  Lord's  sake/' 
Dan.  ix.  17. 

But  this  unexampled  form,  or  of  which  there  is  at 
most  so  few  examples  in  the  ancient  chuj?ch,  was  to 
be  henceforward  adopted  by  all  Christians :  it  is  the 
first  source  of  consolation  which  Christ  opened  to 
his  disciples,  and  it  is  likewise  the  first  which  we, 
after  him,  would  propose  to  you.  Perhaps  there 
may  be  many  among  us  to  whom  Jesus  might  still 
say,  as  formerly  to  his  disciples,  hitherto  have  ye 
asked  nothing  in  my  name.  To  pray,  and  to  pray  in 
the  name  of  Christ,  is  the  Chistian's  grand  resource. 
Resort  to  it  in  all  your  tribulations.  Have  you  rea- 
son to  apprehend  that  some  stroke  from  the  hand  of 
God  is  going  to  fall  heavy  upon  you  ?  Do  you  believe 
yourself  on  the  eve  of  hearing  some  melancholy 
tidings  ?  Are  you  called  to  undergo  some  painful 
and  dangerous  operation  on  your  person  ?  And,  to 
^say  every  thing  in  one  word,  are  you  threatened 
with  the  loss  of  the  most  valuable,  the  most  gene- 
rous, the  most  tender  friend  that  heaven  could 
"bestow  ?  Have  vecourse  to  prayer :  God  still  subsists 

when 


GhHst's  Valedictory  Address  to  his  i)isciples.     40 

Avhen  all  things  else  have  become  dead  to  thee.  God 
continueth  to  hear  thee,  when  death  has  reduced  to  a 
state  of  insensibility  all  that  was  dear  to  thee.  Re- 
tire to  thy  closet ;  prostrate  thyself  at  the  footstool  of 
the  throne  of  the  Father  of  mercies.  Pour  out  your 
heart  into  his  bosom :  say  to  him,  "  O  Lord,  my 
**  strength,  teach  my  hands  to  war,  and  my  fingers  to 
"  fight,'*  Ps.  cxliv.  1.  Lord,  take  pity  on  thy  crea- 
ture ;  Lord,  proportion  my  trials  to  the  strength  thou 
shall  be  pleased  to  administer  to  sustain  them :  "  O  my 
"  God,  hear  the  prayer  of  thy  servant;  cause  thy  face 
*'  to  shine  upon  me,  for  the  Lord's  sake."  Dan.  ix.  17. 
This  exercise,  my  friend,  will  render  thee  invulnera- 
ble; this  exercise  will  communicate  strength  on  which 
thou  mayest,  with  confidence,  rely,  far  beyond  what 
thou  durst  have  expected :  it  will  place  thee  under 
the  shadow  of  the  Almighty,  and  will  establish  thee 
"  as  mount  Zion,  which  cannot  be  removed,  but  abid- 
*'  eth  for  ever,"  Ps.  cxxv.  1. 

2.  In  all  your  distresses  call  to  remembrance  the 
promise  of  the  Comforter,  which  Jesus  Christ  gave  to 
his  disciples :  "  I  will  pray  the  Father,  and  he  shall 
"  giYC  you  another  Comforter;  that  he  may  abide  wdth 
"  you  for  ever,"  ch.  xiv.  16.  This  promise  contained 
something  peculiar,  relatively  to  the  apostles,  and  to 
the  then  state  of  the  infant  church.  It  denoted  the 
economy  of  miracles,  which  was  not  to  commence 
till  Jesus  Christ  had  re-ascended  into  heaven;  and 
this  is  precisely  the  meaning  of  these  words :  "  If  I 
"  go  not  away,  the  Comforter  will  not  come  unto  you," 
ch.  xvi.  7. ;  it  is  likewise  the  meaning  to  be  assigned 
to  that  passage,  '*  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you.  He 
"  that  believeth  on  me,  the  works  that  I  do  shall  he 
'*  do  also ;  and  greater  works  than  these  shall  he  do ; 
**  because  I  go  unto  my  Father,"  ch.  xiv.  By  the  works 
which  the  apostles  were  to  do,  we  are  to  understand 
miracles.  Those  works  were  to  l^e  greater  than  the 
works  of  Jesus  Christ,  with  respect  to  their  duration. 

Vol,  VL  E  and 


50     Christ's  Valedhtonj  Address  to  his  Disciples, 

and  with  respect  to  the  number  of  witnesses  in  whose 
presence  they  were  to  be  performed. 

This  is,  farther,  the  idea  which  we  are  to  affix  to 
those  other  words  of  our  Saviour:  "  I  have  yet  many 
"  things  to  say  unto  you,  but  you  cannot  bear  them 
"  now.  Howbeit,  when  he,  the  Spirit  of  Truth,  is  come, 
"  he  will  guide  you  into  all  truth,"  ch.  xvi.  12,  13- 
This  refers  to  those  extraordinary  gifts  which  the  Holy 
Spirit  was  to  pour  down  upon  the  apostles,  the  aid  of 
inspiration,  and  the  grace  of  infallibility,  which  were 
going  to  be  communicated  to  them.  It  is  likewise  of 
those  peculiar  circumstances,  that  we  must  explain 
the  effects  which  Jesus  Christ  ascribes  to  that  Spirit 
whom  he  promises  to  send  to  his  disciples :  '*  And 
''  when  he  the  Comforter  is  come,  he  will  reprove  the 
"  world  of  sin,  because  they  believe  not  on  me,"  ch. 
xvi.  8,  9-;  c>r,  as  it  might  have  been  translated,  he  shall 
convince  them  of  their  criminality  in  refusing  to  believe 
on  me:  in  other  words,  that  the  mission  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  which  Jesus  Christ  had  promised  to  his  disci- 
ples, should  be  a  new  proof  of  the  divinity  of  his  own 
mission,  and  should  render  those  persons  inexcusable 
who  presumed  to  call  it  in  question. 

Again,  *'  he  shall  reprove  them  of  righteousness, 
''  because  I  go  to  my  Father,*'  ver.  10.  that  is,  the  mi- 
raculous gifts  communicated  to  the  first  heralds  of  the 
gospel,  should  demonstrate,  in  a  sensible  manner,  that 
Jesus  Christ  was  '\i\  heaven,  and  should,  from  that 
very  circumstance,  evince  that  he  was  perfectly 
righteous^  although  he  had  been  condemned  as  an  im- 
postor, seeing  God  liad  thus  exalted  him  to  the  high- 
est pinnacle  of  glory. 

Once  more,  "  he  shall  reprove  them  of  judgment, 
"  because  the  prince  of  this  wxnid  is  judged,"  ver.  11,; 
in  other  words,  that  the  triumphs  which  the  Christian 
religion  was  about  to  obtain,  through  the  miraculous 
endowments  of  its  ministers,  were  to  be  an  awful  fore* 
runner  of  the  judgments  which  should  overtake  those 

who 


Christ's  Paledictory  Address  to  his  Disciples.    51 

tvho  persisted  in  their  unbelief.  AH  this  is  peculiar 
to  the  apostles ;  all  this  relates  to  the  circumstanceg 
of  the  primitive  church. 

But  this  promise,  my  beloved  brethren,  has  a  refer- 
ence to  us  also ;  and  let  it  be  our  support  in  the  midst 
of  tribulation.  Jesus  Christ  has  promised  to  us  also, 
the  Comforter,  His  Spirit  is  within  us :  *'  Greater  is  he 
"  that  is  in  us,  than  he  that  is  in  the  world,"  1  John 
iv.  4.  Let  us  yield  ourselves  to  the  guidance  of  this 
Spirit :  he  will  not  grant  us  to  exercise  authority  over 
insensible  beings,  to  control  the  powers  of  nature,  and 
to  rule  the  elements ;  but  he  will  exalt  us  to  a  glori- 
ous superiority  over  flesh  and  blood ;  he  wdll  support 
us  under  every  pressure  of  calamity,  and  make  u^ 
more  than  conquerors  over  every  foe. 

3.  In  all  your  distresses,  call  to  remembrance  the 
place  to  which  Jesus  Christ  is  gone.  "  If  ye  loved  me, 
'*  ye  would  rejoice,  because  I  said,  I  go  unto  the  Fa- 
*'  ther,"  ch.  xiv.  28.  It  is  the  desire  of  Jesus  Christ, 
that  his  disciples,  on  being  separated  from  him,  should 
not  confine  their  thoughts  to  their  own  interest  merely* 
It  is  his  wish,  that  the  glory  to  which  he  was  about  to 
be  exalted,  should  sweeten  to  them  the  bitterness  of 
separation.  Jesus  Christ  teaches  us  how  to  love. 
We  frequently  imagine,  that  we  are  inspired  with 
love  to  a  person  cruciated  with  agonizing  pain, 
whereas  it  is  only  self-love  in  disguise.  When  death 
has  removed  a  person,  who  was  justly  dear  to  us,  we 
dwell  only  on  the  loss  which  vve  have  sustained,  but 
make  no  account  of  what  our  friend  has  gained. 
Whence  proceed  those  tears  ^^hich  stream  from  your 
eyes  ?  Whence  these  sighs  and  sobbings  ?  What 
dreadful  event  can  thus  have  rent  your  heart,  and 
excised  those  piercing  shrieks  which  rend  the  air? 
You  have  just  beheld  one  who  was  the  object  of  your 
tenderest  affection  depart  out  of  this  valley  of  tears : 
he  has  breathed  out  his  soul  into  the  hands  of  his 
Creator,  and  the  blessed  angels,  who  rejoice  over  a  sin^ 

E  2  ner 


52      Christ's  Valedictory  Address  to  his  Disciple f. 

her  that  repenteth^  Luke  xv.  10.  experience  new  trans- 
ports of  delight,  when  a  believer  who  had  been  com- 
bating under  the  banner  of  the  cross  of  Christ,  comes 
to  be  admitted  to  a  participation  in  his  triumph :  and 
can  you  consider  this  as  a  ground  of  affliction  to 
you  ?  Do  you  call  this  love  ?  No,  you  know  not  how 
to  love. 

Ah  I  if  the  departed  could  see  what  is  passing  be- 
low the  sun  !  if  the  supreme  order  of  the  Almighty 
Would  permit  those  who  are  in  heaven  to  maintain  a 
communication  with  their  surviving  friends  on  the 
earth  I  the  person,  w^hose  loss  you  so  bitterly  de- 
plore,  would  reproach  you  with  that  excess  of  grief. 
He  would  address  you  in  the  words  of  the  Saviour  to 
his  disciples :  "  If  you  loved  me,  ye  would  rejoice, 
"  because  I  said,  I  go  unto  the  Father,  for  the  Father  is 
''  greater  than  I."  Would  you  tear  me  from  the  bo- 
som of  that  Father?  Would  you  recall  me  to  this  scene 
of  tribulation  and  distress  ?  Do  you  wish  to  see  me 
again  struggling  with  the  calamities  which  are  inse-^ 
parable  from  the  life  of  wretched  mortals  ? 

But  there  is  something  farther  which  challenges 
our  attention.  All  that  our  blessed  Lord  has  done  for 
himself,  has  an  intimate  relation  to  us.  x\ll  the 
glory  which  rests  on  our  illustrious  Head  extends 
its  influence  to  each  of  its  members.  All  the  parts 
of  the  economy  into  which  he  has  entered  for  our  sal- 
vation, have  a  direct  reference  to  our  salvation.  **  He 
*'  was  delivered  for  our  offences,  and  was  raised  again 
*'  for  our  justification :  He  is  even  at  the  right  hand 
"  of  God,  where  he  also  maketh  inliercession  for  us,^' 
Rom  iv.  25.  viii.  34.  In  all  your  distresses,  reflect 
not  only  on  the  place  to  which  Christ  is  gone,  but 
likewise  on  what  he  hath  thither  gone  to  do,  on  your 
behalf.  "  In  my  Father's  house  are  many  mansions : 
"  if  it  were  not  so  I  would  have  told  you.  1  go  to 
"  prepare  a  place  for  you,"  ch.  xiv.  2.  God  no  longer 
dwells  in  light  which  no  man  can  approach  unto,  1  Tim. 

vi. 


Christ's  Valedictory  Address  to  his  Disciples.     53 

vi.  16.  Direct  your  eyes  to  heaven.  There  are  no 
longer  cherubims,  and  a  fiaming  sword.  Gen.  iii.  24. 
to  obstruct  your  passage.  Whither  I  go  ye  know,  and 
the  way  ye  know ;  .  .  .  .  Jesus  Christ  is  the  way,  and 
the  truth,  and  the  life,  ch.  xiv.  4.  6.  Keep  but  your- 
selves closely  united  to  the  Redeemer  in  the  hour  of 
tribulation;  place  continually  before  your  eyes  this 
model  of  patient  suffering,  and  he  will  himself  con- 
duct you  to  those  mansions  of  glory. 

4.  But  an  impenetrable  veil  conceals  from  our 
eyes  those  mansions  in  our  Father's  house :  but  there 
is  an  infinite  distance  between  this  little  corner  of 
the  world,  into  which  God  has  been  pleased  to  send 
us,  as  into  a  state  of  exile,  and  the  place  which 
Christ  is  preparing  for  us.  God  is  still,  with  re- 
spect to  us,  a  strong  God,  who  hideth  himself.  Is.  xlv. 
15.  Well,  you  must  learn  to  look  through  that  veil. 
You  must  learn  to  fill  up  the  mighty  void  which  is 
between  heaven  and  earth,  and  to  see  this  God  who 
still  conceals  himself  from  our  eyes.  "■  Faith  is  the 
"  substance  of  things  hoped  for,  and  the  evidence  of 
**  things  not  seen,"  Heb.  xi.  1.  The  Christian  is  in- 
structed to  unite  the  present  to  futurity.  The  Chris- 
tian is  instructed  to  anticipate  periods  the  most  re- 
mote. The  Christian  is  a  man  already  "  quickened 
*'  together  wath  Christ ;  already  glorified ;  already 
"  seated  in  heavenly  places  with  Christ  Jesus,"  Eph. 
ii.  5.  How  so?  By  the  foretastes  of  those  blessings 
which  are  the  object  of  his  expectations.  This  is  the 
fourth  source  of  the  consolation  which  our  Lord 
opens  to  his  disciples,  and  which  we,  after  him,  open 
unto  you.  "  From  henceforth  ye  know  the  Father, 
"  and  have  seen  him  :  he  that  hath  seen  me  hath  seen 
*'  the  Father :  peace  I  leave  with  you ;  my  peace  I 
**  give  unto  you  :  not  as  the  world  giveth,  give  I  unto 
**  you,"  ch.  xiv.  7,  9,  27. 

My  soul,  if  these  are  mere  empty  ideas  with  re- 
spect to  thee,  to  thyself  alone  is  the  evil  to  be  imput- 
ed 


54     Christ's  Valedictory  Address  to  his  Disciples. 

ed.  Thou  hasl  corrupted  thy  taste  :  thou  art  piun* 
ging  thyself  in  the  world ;  distracting  thyself  with  its 
projects ;  eagerly  hunting  after  its  pleasures :  thou 
art  suffering  thyself  to  be  fascinated  with  its  charms  : 
thou  art  devoting  no  portion  of  thy  immortal  capa- 
city to  the  perception  of  that  delight  which  the  re- 
generated man  enjoys,  when  he  can  say  to  himself, 
**  /  know  the  Father  :  he  is  such  as  I  know  the  Son 
"  to  be,  full  of  love,  full  of  charity,  full  of  good- 
*'  ness  and  long-suffering.  Jesus  Christ  has  left  me 
"  his  peace :  I  bear  within  me  the  testimony  of  a 
**  conscience  void  of  offence :  I  give  myself  up  to  the 
"  joy  of  reflecting  that  my  salvation  is  secure." 
Thou  renderest  thyself  insensible  to  these  sublime  at- 
tracUons :  and  then,  when  the  world  betrays  thee ; 
when  thy  gods  are  taken  away  from  thee,  Jud.  xviii. 
24. ;  when  thou  art  bent  on  every  side  with  a  great  sight 
of  affliction,  thou  findest  thyself  destitute  of  every  re- 
source. Reform  thy  depraved  taste.  Call  down 
Paradise  to  reside  within  thee ;  anticipate  that  glo- 
rious period,  when  thou  shalt  see  God  as  he  is ; 
1  John  iii.  2.  Call  to  remembrance  these  words  of  thy 
Saviour  :  "  From  henceforth  ye  know  the  Father,  and 
*'  have  seen  him  :  he  that  fiath  seen  me  hath  seen  the 
*'  Father:  peace  I  leave  with  you;  my  peace  I  give 
"  untd  you ;  not  as  the  world  giveth,  give  I  unto  you. 
**  Let  not  your  heart  be  troubled,  neither  let  it  be  a- 
**fraid.'' 

5.  There  is  a  fifth  source  of  consolation  which  Je^ 
gus  Christ  disclosed  to  his  disciples,  and  which  we, 
after  him,  disclose  unlo  you :  it  is  the  assurance  of 
his  spiritual  presence,  and  of  the  presence  of  his  hea^ 
venly  Father  in  the  midst  of  you.  /  will  not  leave 
you  comfortless,  or,  as  it  might  have  been  rendered, 
I  will  not  leave  you  orphans  .  .  .  .  "  If  a  man  love 
**  me,  he  will  keep  my  words ;  and  my  Father  will 
*'  love  him,  and  we  will  come  unto  him,  and  make 
"  our  abode  tvith  him  :"  ch.  xiv.  18,   23.     In  all 

your 


Chrisfs  Valedictory  Address  to  his  Disciples,      55 

your  distresses  call  to  remembrance  that  God  is  with 
you  of  a  truth.  With  what  fortitude  did  this  reflec- 
tion inspire  those  holy  men  w^hom  the  scriptures  have 
proposed  to  us  as  models  I 

With  what  fortitude  w^as  Moses  animated  by  it  I 
Wherein  shall  it  be  known  here,  said  of  old  time  that 
eminent  servant  of  God,  **  that  I  and  thy  people  have 
"  found  grace  in  thy  sight  ?  Is  it  not  in  that  thou  goest 
*^  with  us  ?  So  shall  we  be  separated,  I  and  thy  pec-- 
''  pie,  from  all  the  people  that  are  upon  the  face  of  the 
"  earth  :  Ex.  xxiii.  l6.  With  what  fortitude  did  it 
animate  the  prophet,  when  he  said.  When  my  father 
and  my  mother  forsake  me,  then  the  Lord  will  take  me 
lip  !  Ps.  xxxvii.  10.  With  what  fortitude  did  it  inspire 
Jesus  Christ  himself,  under  that  universal  desertion 
which  he  experienced  at  the  hour  of  death  ?  "  Be- 
*'  hold,  the  hour  cometh,  yea,  is  now  coaie,  that  ye 
"  shall  be  scattered  every  man  to  his  own,  and  shall 
■ '  leave  me  alone  :  and  yet  I  am  not  alone,  because 
**  the  Father  is  with  me,"  ch.  xvi.  32. 

Let  us  never  lose  sight  of  God  in  the  day  of  ad- 
versity. Let  us  ever  dwell  with  complacency  and 
joy  on  that  expression  of  the  Redeemer,  I  will  not 
leave  you  orphans.  Let  us  apply  to  ourselves  what 
God  said  of  his  ancient  people  :  "  Surely  they  are  my 
**  people,  children  that  will  not  lie  :  so  he  w^as  their 
"  Saviour.  In  all  their  affliction  he  w^as  afflicted,  and 
*'  the  angel  of  his  presence  saved  them,"  Isa.  Ixiii. 
8,  Q. ;  and  let  us  exult  in  the  fulness  of  a  christian  com- . 
iidence  :  "  I  have  set  the  Lord  always  before  me  :  bis- " 
"  cause  he  is  at  my  right  hand,  I  shall  not  be  mo- 
''  ved,"  Ps.  xvi.  8. 

6.  Finally,  the  last  source  of  consolation  which  Je- 
sus Christ  disclosed  to  his  disciples,  and  which  we, 
after  his  example,  would  disclose  unto  you,  is  the 
nearness  of  his  return  :  "  Ye  now  have  sorrow  :  but  I 
^'  w^ill  see  you  again,  and  your  heart  shall  rejoice,  and 
"  your  joy  no  man  taketh  from  you,"   ch.   xvi.  22. 

In 


56      Christ's  Valedictory  Address  to  his  Disciples, 

In  all  your  distresses  call  to  remembrance,  that  if  Je^ 
sus  Christ  be  not  now  sensibly  present  in  the  midst 
of  you,  the  time  is  at  hand  when  he  will  certainly 
be  so.  Call  to  remembrance  what  the  angels  said 
unto  the  apostles,  when  lost  in  astonishment  at  be- 
holding a  cloud  receive  him  out  of  their  sight :  *'  Ye 
**  men  of  Galilee,  why  stand  ye  gazing  up  into  hea- 
"  yen :  this  same  Jesus  which  is  taken  up  from  you 
"  into  heaven,  shall  so  come,  in  like  manner  as  ye 
*^  have  seen  him  go  into  heaven;"  Acts  i.  11.  Call 
to  remembrance  that  Jesus  Christ  will  quickly  re-ap- 
pear :  "  Yet  a  little  while,  and  he  who  shall  come, 
'^  will  come,  and  will  not  tarry,"  Heb.  x.  37. 

No,  this  economy  is  not  made  for  eternity.  The 
world  is  waxing  old ;  our  years  arc  hastening  to  fill 
up  their  measure :  we  are  advancing  with  rapid 
strides  towards  the  tomb.  The  decorations  of  the 
universe  are  speedily  to  be  changed  with  respect  to 
us.  The  universe  itself  is  about  to  undergo  a  real 
change.  The  state  of  the  world,  that  now  is,  pre- 
sents a  state  of  violence,  which  cannot  be  of  long 
duration.  The  last  trumpet  must  ere  long  utter  its 
voice  :  yet  a  little  while  and  those  thunders  must  be 
h6ard  which  shall  shake  the  pillars  of  the  earth : 
Arise  ye  dead,  and  leave  your  tombs.  Yet  a  little 
while,  and  we  shall  see  again  those  whose  death  has 
cost  us  so  many  tears,  and  we  shall  be  re-united  to 
them.  Yet  a  little  while,  and  the  sign  of  the  Son  of 
man  shall  appear  in  heaven,  Matt.  xxiv.  30.  Yet  a 
little  while,  and  this  Son  of  man  shall  himself  appear 
in  his  own^  and  in  his  Father'' s  glory,  with  all  his  holy 
angels. 

Ah !  my  brethren,  till  that  blessed  period  arrive, 
we  dare  not  promise  you  the  possession  of  the  fulness 
of  joy.  Till  that  blessed  period.  Church  of  Jesus 
Christ,  thou  afflicted,  tossed  with  tempest,  and  not  com- 
forted, Isa.  liv.  2.  a  fearful  night  must  involve  thee 
in  thick  darkness.     Till  that  blessed  period,  weep  ; 

weep. 


Christ's  Valedictory  Address  to  his  Disciples,      57 

weep,  dejected  christian,  disciple  of  the  crucified  Je- 
sus, weep  and  lament,  and  let  the  world  rejoice,  because 
ye  are  sorrowful,  but,  ere  long,  your  sorrow  shall  be 
turned  into  joy  ....  I  will  see  you  again,  and  your  heart 
shall  rejoice,  and  your  joy  no  man  takethfrom  you. 

What  powers  of  thought  are  equal  to  a  happy  ter- 
mination of  this  subject  of  meditation  I  What  pencil 
is  capable  of  depicting  the  joy  of  the  sons  of  God,  in 
that  eventful  day,  in  which  they  shall  behold  again, 
in  which  they  shall  embrace,  a  father,  a  friend,  a  child, 
from  whom  death  had  once  separated  them  I  Let  ima- 
gination soar  to  the  highest  objects  which  the  mind 
is  capable  of  contemplating.  Let  nothing  divide  the 
love  w^hich  we  entirely  owe  to  our  adorable  Redeem- 
er, or  damp  the  delight  which  we  derive  from  the  ex- 
alted hope  of  seeing  him  return  to  us  in  the  clouds  of 
heaven,  with  his  angels  that  excel  in  strength. 

Who  is  capable  of  representing  the  transport  which 
the  return  of  this  Jesus  shall  kindle  in  the  bosom  of 
the  faithful  I  "  There  he  is,  that  Jesus  in  whom  we 
"  believed :  This  is  he,  that  Jesus  whom  we  loved, 
- '  and  to  whom  we  were  faithful  even  unto  death, 
"  Come,  Redeemer  of  our  souls,  come  and  wipe  away 
"  the  tears  which  thy  departure  drew  from  our  eyes : 
"  come,  and  compensate  to  us  the  heaviness  of  so  long 
"  a  separation  from  thee :  come  and  receive  the  efTu- 
"  sions  of  our  gratitude  and  joy  :  suffer  us,  suffer  us 
"  to  yield  to  the  transports  of  that  love  which  absorbs 
"  every  faculty,  which  constrains  us,  which  exalts 
"  us  to  seraphic  ardour." 

This  is  the  last  source  of  consolation  which  Jesug 
Christ  disclosed  to  his  disciples ;  this  is  that  conso- 
lation which  flows  out  in  copious  streams  toward  you, 
Christian  confounded,  overwhelmed  with  wave  upon 
wave,  in  all  thy  fears,  thy  sorrows,  thy  sufferings.  O 
religion  of  the  blessed  Jesus,  how  powerful  are  thy 
attractions  !  What  charms  dost  thou  possess  for  a 
wretched  creature  who  feels  the  whole  earth  a  cheer- 
less 


58      Christ's  Valedictory  Address  to  his  Disciples, 

less  Void  :  Let  this  religion,  my  beloved  brethren,  be 
the  object  of  our  most  ardent  affection.  Let  us  go  on 
unto  perfection :  let  us  transmit  it  to  our  children,  as 
the  goodliest  portion,  as  the  fairest  inheritance :  let 
us  live  with  Jesus  Christ!  let  us  die  with  Jesus 
Christ.  May  God  grant  us  this  supreme  felicity.  To 
him  be  honour  and  glory  for  ever  and  ever.  Amen. 


SERMON 


59 


SERMON    III- 

phrisfs  Sacerdotal  Prayer. 


John  xvii. 


These  words  spake  jfesits,  and  lifted  up  his  eyes  to  hecu 
veuy  arid  said,  Father,  the  hour  is  come  ;  glorify  thy 
Son,  that  thy  Son  also  may  glorify  thee :  As  thou  hast 
given  him  power  over  all  flesh,  that  he  should  give 
eterrial  life  to  as  many  as  thou  hast  given  him.  And 
this  is  life  eternal^  that  they  might  know  thee  the  only 
true  God,  and  Jesus  Christ  whofu  thou  hast  sent,  I 
have  glorified  thee  on  the  earth  :  I  have  finished  the 
work  which  thou  gavest  me  to  do.  And  now,  0  Fa- 
ther,  glorify  thou  me  with  thine  ownself  with  the 
glory  which  I  had  with  thee  before  the  world  vjas,  I 
have  manifested  thy  name  unto  the  men  which  thou 
gavest  me  out  of  the  world:  thine  they  were,  and  thou 
gavest  them  me  ;  and  they  have  kept  thy  word.  Now 
they  have  known,  that  all  things,  whatsoever  thou  hast 
given  vie,  are  of  thee  :  For  I  have  given  unto  them 
the  words  which  thou  gavest  me  ;  and  they  have  re- 
ceived them,  and  have  known  surely  that  I  came  out 
from  thee,  and  they  have  believed  that  thou  didst  send 

me. 


60  Christ* s  Sac§r dotal  Prayer. 

vie.     I  pray  for  them :  I  pray  not  for  the  worlds  hut 
for  them  which  thou  hast  given  me  ;for  they  are  thine. 
And  all  mine  are  thine,  and  thine  are  ?nine  ;  and  I 
am  glorified  in  them.     And  now  I  am  no  more  in  the 
world,  but  these  are  in  the  world,  and  I  come  to  thee. 
Holy  Father^  keep  through  thine  own  name  those  whom 
thou  hast  given  me,  that  they  may  he  one,  as  we  are. 
While  I  was  with  them  in  the  world,  I  kept  them  in 
thy  name:  those  that  thou  gavest  me  I  have  kept,  and 
none  of  them  is  lost,  hut  the  son  of  perdition  ;  that 
the  scripture  might  he  fulfilled.     And  jiow  come  I  to 
thee  ;  and  these  things  I  speak  in  the  world,  that  they 
might  have  my  joy  fulfilled  in  themselves.     I  have 
given  them  my  word;  and  the  world  hath  hated  them, 
because  they  are  not  of  the  world,  even  as  lam  not  of 
the  world.  1  pray  not  that  thou  shouldest  take  them  out 
of  the  world^  but  that  thou  shouldest  keep  them  from  the 
evil.     They  are  not  of  the  world,  even  as  I  am  not 
of  the  world.     Sanctify  them  through  thy  truth :  thy 
'word  is  truth.     As  thou  hast  sent  me  into  the  world, 
even  so  have  I  also  sent  them  into  the  world.     And  for 
their  sakes  I  sanctify  myself,  that  they  also  might  he 
sanctified  through  the  truth.    Neither  pray  I  for  these 
alone,  hut  for  them  also  which  shall  believe  on  me 
through  their  word;  that  they  all  may  he  one ;  as  thou. 
Father,  art  in  me,  and  Tin  thee,  that  they  also  may  be 
one  in  us :  that  the  world  may  believe  that  thou  hast 
sent  me.    And  the  glory  which  thou  gavest  me  I  have 
given  them;  that  they  may  be  one,  even  as  we  are  one: 
I  in  them,  and  thou  in  me,  that  they  may  be  made  per- 
fect in  one  ;  and  that  the  world  may  know  that  thou 
hast  sent  me,  and  hast  loved  them,  as  thou  hast  loved 
me.     Father,  I  will  that  they  also,  whom  thou  hast 
given  me  he  with  me  where  lam  ;  that  they  may  behold 
my  glory,  which  thou  hast  given  me :  for  thou  lovedst 
me  before  the  foundation  of  the  world.     0  Hghteous 
Father,  the  world  hath  not  known  thee :  but  I  have 

known 


Christ's  Sacerdotal  Prayer.  Ql 

known  thee,  and  these  have  known  that  thou  hast  sent 
me.  And  I  have  declared  unto  them  thy  name,  and 
will  declare  it :  that  the  love  wherewith  thou  hast  loved 
me  may  be  in  them^  and  I  in  them. 

^T^HE  words  of  dying  persons  usually  sink  deep 
into  the  listening  ear,  and  touch  the  inmost 
soul.  Ah  I  why  are  not  the  impressions  which  they 
produce  as  lasting  as  they  are  lively  I  The  words  of 
a  dying  pastor,  more  especially,  seem  calculated  to 
produce  an  extraordinary  effect. 

At  these  last  solemn  moments  of  life,  every  mo- 
tive of  self-interest,  or  of  vain-glory,  by  which  he 
might  have  been  actuated  through  the  course  of  his 
ministry,  vanishes  away.  Then  it  is  that  a  faithful 
minister  derives  from  the  bosom  of  that  rehgion  which 
he  has  taught  to  others,  the  means  of  fortifying  him- 
self against  the  idea  of  a  futurity  all  gloom,  if  a 
man  has  mere  human  reason  for  his  oply  guide,  but 
all  light  and  joy  to  him  who  follows  the  spirit  of 
revelation.  Then  it  is  that  he  feels  a  more  particular 
concern  and  tenderness  for  the  church,  and  that  now, 
himself  lifted  up,  he  would  draw  all  men  after  him. 

When  it  is  a  pastor  of  the  ordinary  rate  that  ex- 
pires, no  other  consequence  can  be  deduced  from 
his  perseverance  to  the  last  but  this,  that  he  had 
preached  what  he  believed  to  be  the  truth,  not  what 
was  so  in  fact.  And  it  is  possible  he  may  deceive 
himself  when  he  is  dying,  as  he  pretended  not  to  in- 
fallibility while  he  lived.  But  the  death  of  those 
extraordinary  men,  who  have  established,  by  their 
testimony,  the  facts  on  which  all  religion  rests,  is 
the  touchstone  of  the  doctrines  which  they  taught. 
x\s  it  was  impossible  they  should  have  been  deceived 
in  the  points  which  they  attest,  there  can  remain  no 
other  suspicion  to  aft'ect  their  testimony,  but  this, 
'hat   it  was  their  intention  to  impose  upon  others : 

and 


62  Christ^ s  Sacerdotal  Prayer, 

and  this  suspicion  falls  to  the  ground,  when  we  be- 
hold them,  without  deviation,  persisting  to  the  end 
in  the  faith  which  they  professed,  attesting  it  by  new 
appeals  to  heaven,  calling  God  to  witness  their  sin- 
cerity, and  their  innocence. 

All  these  different  considerations  unite  in  the  per- 
son of  Jesus  Christ :  all  these  motives  to  attention, 
and  in  an  order  infinitely  superior,  fix  our  medita- 
tion on  the  words  which  have  been  read.  Come  and 
behold  the  sentiments  of  your  Saviour  unfolded 
without  disguise  :  come  and  behold  the  most  lovely 
display  of  the  human  soul  that  ever  was  exhibited  : 
come  and  behold  whether  he,  for  one  moment, 
doubted,  whether  he  shrunk  back  :  above  all,  come 
and  behold  the  charity  by  which  he  w^as  animated. 
Charity  formed  the  plan  of  the  sacrifice  which  he 
should  offer,  and  charity  is  hastening  to  accom- 
plish it. 

Every  thought  of  this  dying  Jesus  is  employed 
on  his  disciples  ;  is  employed  about  you,  my  be- 
loved brethren.  "  Thine  they  w^ere,  and  thou  gavest 
'*  them  me.  I  pray  for  them.  I  pray  for  those  whom 
"  thou  hast  given  me :  keep  them  through  thine  own 
"  name.  Neither  pray  I  for  these  alone,  but  for 
"  them  also  which  shall  believe  on  me  through  their 
**  wwd." 

Such  are  the  objects,  my  friends,  which  I  would 
this  day  present  to  your  contemplation.  I  put  aside 
all  the  theological  controversies  which  have  taken 
their  rise  from  the  passage  under  review.  My  only 
aim  shall  be  to  recommend  to  your  most  serious  at- 
tention the  expressions,  one  after  another,  the  heart- 
afTecting,  the  penetrating  expressions  of  the  dying 
Saviour  of  mankind.  So  far  from  going  abroad  in 
quest  of  enemies  to  combat,  I  could  even  wish  to 
confine  my  address,  at  the  present  hour,  to  such  of 
my  hearers  as  have  a  heart  susceptible  of  those  ten- 
der  sentiments   with   which    the   religion    cf  Jesus 

Christ 


Christ'' s  Sacerdotal  Prayer,  6S 

Christ  inspires  all  who  cordially  embrace  it.  On 
hearts  possessed  of  such  sensibility  I  could  wish  to 
engrave  the  last  expressions  of  the  Redeemer's  love : 
I  could  wish  this  sermon  might  accompany  you  up 
to  your  dying  hour :  I  could  wish  that,  in  the  mo- 
ment of  expiring  agony,  you  might  be  enabled  to 
oppose,  to  the  fearful  threats  of  the  king  of  terrors, 
these  fenvent  petitions  of  the  Saviour  of  the  world, 
which  set  open  to  you  the  gates  of  heaven,  and  which 
establish  your  eternal  felicity  on  a  foundation  more 
unmoveable  than  those  of  heaven  and  earth :  Father, 
I  will  that  they  also  whom  thou  hast  given  me  be  with 
me  where  I  am  ;  that  they  may  behold  my  glory  which 
thou  hast  given  me.     Amen. 

We  shall  arrange  our  subject  in  the  order  of  the 
three  following  ideas,  and  shall  endeavour  to  point 
out  to  you, 


I.  The  relation  in  which  Jesus  Christ  stands  to 
God. 

II.  The  relation  which  subsists  between  the  apos« 
ties  and  Jesus  Christ. 

III.  The  relation  subsisting  between  believers  and 
the  apostles. 

We  shall  distinguish  these  three  ideas  only  for  the 
purpose  of  afterwards  establishing  and  sublimating 
the  mystery  of  their  union.  For  the  perfect  obedi- 
ence which  Jesus  Christ  yielded  to  the  supreme  will 
©f  his  heavenly  Father,  has  united  him  to  God  in  a 
manner  ineffable,  so  that  he  is  one  with  God,  not  only 
as  partaking  pf  the  divine  nature,  but  considered  as 
a.  creature. 

Again, 


64  Christ's  Sacerdotal  Prayer, 

Again,  the  glorious  manner  in  which  the  apostle* 
have  executed  the  functions  of  their  apostleship,  hav- 
ing not  only  believed  the  doctrines  which  their  Mas- 
ter taught  them,  but  diffused  them  over  the  whole 
world;  and,  like  him,  sealed  them  with  their  own 
blood,  has  united  them  in  the  closest  intimacy  with 
Jesus  Christ,  so  that  they  are  o?ie  with  them  as  Jesus 
Christ  is  one  with  the  Father, 

Finally,  the  respect  with  which  believers  receive, 
and  acquiesce  in,  the  doctrine  of  the  apostles,  and 
that  of  Jesus  Christ,  raises  them  to  a  participation 
of  the  same  exalted  glory  and  felicity ;  so  that  be- 
lievers being  united  with  the  apostles,  the  apostles 
with  Jesus  Christ,  and  Jesus  Christ  with  God,  there 
results,  from  this  union,  a  society,  a  whole,  noble, 
sublime,  possessing  the  perfection  of  glory  and  bles- 
sedness. 

Now,  it  is  the  complete  union  of  this  whole,  it  is 
the  perfection  of  this  communion  among  all  these 
orders  of  beings,  that  Jesus  Christ  here  asks  of  the 
Father. 

I.  Let  us  first  examine  the  relations  in  which 
Jesus  Christ  stands  to  God.  Jesus  Christ  may  be 
considered  under  two  different  ideas,  as  God,  and  as 
Mediator. 

There  are,  accordingly,  two  kinds  of  relation  sub- 
sisting between  God  and  Jesus  Christ:  1.  A  rela- 
tion of  nature ;  and  2.  A  relation  of  economy.  Jesus 
as  God  is  one  with  the  Father;  he  is  likewise  so  in  his 
character  of  Mediator. 

1.  There  subsists  between  God  and  Christ  a  unity 
of  nature. 

We  perceive  more  than  one  proof  of  this  in  the 
words  of  my  text.  For  what  are  we  to  understand  by 
that  glory  of  which  Jesus  Christ  speaks,  which  he 
had  with  the  Father  before  the  world  was,  unless  it  be 
that  he  is  God,  as  the  Father  is  God  ? 


Christ's  Sacerdotal  Pra;ycr  65 

I  am  well  aware  that  in  the  very  chapter  we  are 
attempting  to  explain,  some  have  pretended  to  dis- 
cover an  argument  which  militates  against  this  doc- 
trine. The  enemies  of  the  divinity  of  our  blessed 
Lord  have  frequently  employed  the  words  which  we 
have  recited,  as  a  bulwark  to  defend  their  error  :• 
"  this  is  life  eternal,  that  they  might  know  thee  the  on- 
ly true  God,  and  Jesus  Christ  whom  thou  hast  sent," 
ver.  3.  Tliey  tell  us,  that  Jesus  Christ  here  distm- 
guishes  himself  from  the  true  God,  and  they  have 
thence  concluded,  that  he  is  of  a  different  nature„ 
But  it  is  an  easy  matter  to  refute  this  objection  by 
permitting  Jesus  Christ  to  explain  his  own  meaning, 
and  interpreting  scripture  by  scripture.  Let  us,  from 
X)ther  passages,  see  how  Jesus  Christ  has  distinguished 
himself  from  the  true  God.  Is  it  because  he  is  not 
the  true  God  ?  By  no  means  ;  for  it  is  expressly  de- 
clared in  another  place,  that  he  is  the  true  Gody  and 
eternal  life,  1  John  v.  20. 

If  then,  Jesus  Christ  has  referred  to  two  classes, 
every  branch  of  Christian  knowledge  :  if  he  has 
placed  in  one  class  the  knowledge  relating  to  the  true 
God,  and  in  the  other  class,  all  knowledge  relating 
to  the  Son,  whom  the  true  God  has  sent  into  the 
world,  this  is  simply  reducing  the  whole  of  Christian 
Theology  to  the  two  great  questions  which  were  the 
subject  of  discussion  in  his  time,  and  Which  con- 
tained a  summary  of  all  the  topics  which  can  be  dis- 
cussed on  the  subject  of  religion.  The  first  was  the 
point  in  dispute  between  the  Pagan  and  the  Jew  : 
the  other,  between  the  Jew  and  the  Christian. 

The  matter  in  dispute  between  the  Pagan  and  the 
Jew  was,  whether  there  were  only  o?ie  God,  or  more 
than  one.  Respecting  this  question,  Jesus  Christ 
pronounces  a  clear  decision;  that  eternal  life co7isists 
in  knowing  the  one  true  God,  The  point  in  dispi.te 
between  the  Jew  and  the  Christian  related  tQ  Christ's 

VOL.  VI.  F  being 


oQ  Christ's  Sacerdotal  Frayer, 

being  the  Messiah,  the  seat  of  God.  But  this  Jesuy 
whom  God  has  sent^  Is  he  God  Creator,  or  is  h© 
a  creature  merely  ?  Neither  the  negative  nor  the  af- 
firmative side  of  this  question  is  directly  established 
in  these  >vords:  "  this  is  life  eternal,  to  know  thee  the 
only  true  God,  and  Jesus  Christ  whom  thou  hast  sent." 
Gnce  admit  what  Jesus  Christ  demands  on  the  sub- 
ject of  the  first  two  questions,  and  the  third  will  pre- 
sently resolve  itself.  For  if  we  know  that  there  is 
only  one  God,  and  that  Jesus  Christ  is  sent  by  him, 
we  must  receive,  without  hesita^tion,  the  doctrine 
which  God  has  taught  us  by  this  Son  whom  he  hath 
sent :  and  if  we  receive  this  doctrine,  we  must  be- 
lieve from  the  doctrine  itself,  that  he  who  is  sent 
must  be  God  :  because  the  divinity  of  his  nature  is- 
one  point  of  the  doctrine  which  he  hath  taught. 

There  are,  therefore,  relations  of  nature  between 
Jesus  Christ  and  God.  There  is  a  unity  of  Jesus 
Christ  as  God  with  his  Father.  There  is  a  glory 
which  Jesus  Christ  had  ivith  God,  before  the  world 
ims,  and  which  he  always  possessed,  even  at  the  pe- 
riod of  his  deepest  humihation.  This  unity  is  as 
unchangeable  as  Deity  itself.  The  glory  which  Jc- 
.sus  Christ  derives  from  it  is  not  susceptible  of  in- 
crease or  diminution.  All  that  he  prays  for  in  re- 
spect of  it,  is,  that  it  might  be  known  among  men  : 
and  in  this  sense  we  may  understand  the  expressions 
in  our  text :  "  Father,  glorify  me  with  the  glory  which 
I  iiad  with  thee,  before  the  world  was,"  ver.  5.     But, 

^".  There  subsists  likewise  a  relation  of  economy 
between  JeSus  Christ  and  the  Father.  Jesus  Christ 
as  Mediator  is  o^e  with  God.  I  have  a  conception  of 
three  kinds  of  Unity  in  this  respect:  1.  unity  of 
idea  :  2.  Unity  of  will :  3-  Unity  of  dominion. 

(1.)  There  is  a  unity  of  idea.  I  mean,  that  the 
human  soul  of  Jesus  Christ  Mediator  was  endowed 
vdtli  so"  much  intelligeTice,  that  he  had  the    same 

ideas 


Christ's  Sacerdotal  Prayer,  67 

ideas  with  God,  that  he  formed  the  same  judgments, 
and  that  he  possessed  the  same  infalUbilitj.  This 
truth  had  been  predicted  of  him  bj  the  prophets  : 
*'  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  God  is  upon  me  :  because  the 
Lord  hath  anointed  me  to  preach  good  tidings  unto 
the  meek,"  Is.  Ixi.  1.  It  was  taught  by  Jesus  Christ 
himself  :  mi/  doctr^ine  is  not  'mine,  but  his  that  sent  me^ 
John  vii.  16.  "I  am  the  ligiit  of  the  world  :  he  that 
followeth  me  shall  not  walk  in  darkness,  but  shall 
have  the  light  of  life,"  John  viii.  12.  It  is  the  foun- 
dation of  the  faith  which  we  have,  in  the  truths 
which  flowed  from  his  lips. 

But  however  perfect  this  unity  may  have  been, 
it  was  nevertheless    susceptible    of   degrees.     Jesus 
Christ,  considered  as  Mediator,  never  could  be  in  an 
error,  but  he  did  not  always  know  the  wlwle  truth. 
He  had  not  in  the  cradle  the  same  extent  of  know- 
ledge which  he  possessed  at  the  age  of  twelve  years, 
Luke   ii.   42.   when  in  the  temple,  he  by  his  pro- 
found knowledge  excited  astonishment  in  the  most 
learned    of  the    doctors.     Most  probably,  likewise, 
he  did  not  yet  possess  at  the  age  of  twelve  years,  the 
illumination  which  he  attained  unto  in  the  sequel  of 
his  ministry.     The  evangelist  Expressly  remarks  that 
he  grew,  arid  waxed  strono;  in  spirit,  JiUed  with  wisdom^ 
Luke  ii.  40.     Never  did  he  attain  during  his  abode 
on  earth  that  height  of  intelligence  which  lie  had, 
after  his  ascension  into  heaven.     It  is  expressly  said, 
that,  as  the  Son  of  man,  he  knew  not  the  day  of  judg- 
ment.     The  soul,  to  which  his  mortal  body    was 
united,  acquired,  undoubtedly,  after  that  body   left 
the  tomb,  an  extension  of  knowledge  which   it  had 
not,  so  long  as  the  body  to  which  it  was  united  was 
yet  in  a  mortal  condition.     This   is   the   first  glory 
that  Jesus  Christ  asks  of  his  Father.     He  prays  that 
he  would  grant  him  to  partake,  in  a  manner  more 
intimate,  in  his  counsels,  and  to  draw  from  the  un- 
bounded ocean  of  light  more  abundant  supplies  of 

2  divine 


(yg  Christ's  Sacerdotal  Prayer. 

divine  wisdom  and  knowledge  :  Father,  the  hour  is 
come,  glorify  thy  Son,  that  thy  Son  also  may  glorify 
thee,  ver.  1. 

(2.)  The  second  unity,  subsisting  between  Jesus^ 
Christ  Mediator  and  the  Father,  is  a  unity  of  will. 
Observe  to  what  an  extent  it  has  been  carried.    The 
incarnation  was  an  effect  of  the  entire  submission  of 
this  divine  Saviour  to  the  will  of  his   Father  :  ivhefi 
he  cojneth  into  the  world,  he  saith,  Sacrifice  and  offering 
thou  wouldest  not,  but  a  body  hast  thou  prepared  me  :  in 
burnt-offer mgs  and  sacrifices  for  sin  thou  hast  had  ?io 
pleasure  :  then  said  I,  Lo,  I  come,  (in  the  volume  of 
the  book  it  is  written  of  me  J  to  do  thy  will,   O   God, 
Heb.  X.  5 — 7.     When  Joseph  and  Mary  found  fault 
with  him  for  having  parted  company  with  them,  he 
replied,    "  how  is  it  that  ye  sought  me  ?  Wist  ye  not 
that  I  must  be  about  my  Father's  business?  "  Luke  ii. 
49,  When  his  disciples  presented  him  with  food,"  say- 
ing, Master,  eat  :  he  said  unto  them,  I  have  meat  to 
eat  that  ye  know  not  of :  .  .  .  .  my  meat  is  to  do  the 
will  of  him  that  sent  me,  and  to  finish  his  work,"  John 
iv.  31,  S^G.  and,  in  the  text,  he  saith,  that   for  the 
sake  of  the  disciples  whom  the  Father  had  given  him, 
he  sanctified  hii?iself 

It  is,  however,  demonstrably  certain,  that  in  pro- 
portion as  the  human  soul  acquires  more  light  and 
knowledge,  according  as  it  is  less  distracted  by  the 
sinless  infirmities  of  nature,  it  takes  the  loftier 
flight  toward  the  love  of  order,  and  conceives  a 
more  powerful  attachment  to  the  sovereign  will  of 
heaven.  There  were  certain  moments  in  the  life  of 
Jesus  Christ,  during  his  abode  on  earth,  in  which 
he  was  entirely  absorbed  of  those  objects  which  in- 
cessantly engage  the  attention  of  the  angels  of  God. 
He  was  led  of  the  Spirit  into  the  wilderness  ;  there 
he  fasted  forty  days  and  forty  flights.  Matt.  iv.  2.  and 
'  these  days  and  nights  were,  undoubtedly,  passed  iiv 

contemplation. 


C7irist''s  Sacerdotal  Vrayer.  69 

contemplation,  in  rapture,  in  an  extasy  of  zeal  and 
fervour.  But  after  these  forty  days  and  forty  nights 
were  over,  Jw  wa^  afttrivards  an  hungred. 

In  like  nii^nner,  he  beheld  the  glory  of  God  on 
the  holy  mountain,  and  the  transfiguration  which  he 
underwent,  kindled  to  a  higher  and  a  higher  degree,  the 
desire  w^hich  he  felt,  to  discharge,  in  a  manner  w^orthy 
of  \\\h  exalted  character,  the  commission  w^iich  he  had 
received  of  the  Father.  But  those  rays  of  glory 
were  to  be  eclipsed,  and  from  that  sacred  place  he 
must  descend.  During  the  whole  course  of  his  life, 
he  kept  constantly  in  view  the  end  of  his  mission,  he 
expressed  many  an  ardent  wish  to  accomplish  the  sa- 
crifice which  he  came  into  the  world  to  offer  up. 

But  at  the  idea  of  death  he  is  for  a  season  in  hea- 
viness :  there  is  an  appearance  of  desiring  as  it  were 
'to  compound  matters  with  Deity;  and  this,  some 
interpreters  consider  as  the  sense  of  these  words  :  Fa- 
ther,  if  it  he  possible,  let  this  cup  pass  from  me,  that  I 
may  not  drink  it,  Matt.  xxvi.  39.  and,  perhaps,  it  is 
likewise  the  sense  of  those  which  follow  :  "  now  is  my 
soul  troubled  :  and  what  shall  I  say  ?  Father,  save  me 
from  tins  hour,"  John  xii.  27.  Not  that  Jesus  Christ 
ever  thought  he  could  be  saved  from  that  hour,  or 
delivered  from  drinking  that  cup  which  w^as  going 
to  be  put  into  his  hand,  but  it  was  the  language  of 
innocent  human  infirmity,  exited  by  the  first  ideas 
of  extreme  approaching  agony.  It  is  only  in  the 
possession  of  perfect  blessedness,  that  our  virtues 
^hall  acquire  all  the  activity,  all  the  extent  of  which 
they  are  susceptible.  And  it  is,  yes,  it  is  this  acti- 
vity, it  is  this  extent  of  virtue,  which  had  the 
power  of  still  farther  strengthening  the  hand  which 
united  Jesus  Christ  to  his  Father.  For  this  reason  it 
is  that  he  promises  to  the  glory  of  God  that  return 
and  increase  of  glory  which  he  asks  of  him :  "Father,^ 
glorify  thy  Son,  that  thy  Son  also  may  glorify  thee^ 
vcr.  1." 

(3^)  3^ 


70  Christ's  Sacerdotal  Prayer. 

(3.)  In  the  third  place,  there  subsists  between  the 
Fatixer  and  the  Son,  a  unity  of  dominion.  Magni- 
ficent displays  of  this  were  visible  even  while  our 
blessed  JLord  tabernacled  among  men.  Is  the  ex- 
pression too  strong,  if  we  say,  that  God  Almighty, 
>\'hen  he  sent  Jesus  Christ  into  the  world,  made  him 
the  depositary  of  his  omnipotence.  The  winds,  the 
waves,  men,  devils,  life,  death,  the  elements,  uni- 
versal nature,  all,  all  submitted  to  hi^  sovereign 
will. 

But,  if  the  power  of  Jesus  Christ  was  unbounded 
as  considered  in  itself,  it  was  limited,  however,  in 
its  exercise.  It  was  no  easy  matter  U)  discover  the 
depositary  of  the  divine  omnipotence  in  the  person 
of  that  man,  consigned  over  to  the  hands  of  execu- 
tioners, dragged  before  a  tribunal  of  iniquity,  and 
nailed  to  a  cross.  There  is  a  dominion,  with  which 
it  impies  a  contradiction  to  suppose  Jesus  Christ  in- 
vested before  he  suffered  death,  for  this  dominion 
was  to  be  expressly  the  rewarcl  of  suffering  :  "he  hum- 
bled himself,  and  became  obedient  unto  death,  even  the 
death  of  the  cross.  Wherefore  God  also  hath  highly 
exalted  him,  and  given  ]iim  a  name  which  is  above 
every  name ;  that  at  the  name  of  Jesus  every  knee 
should  bow,  of  things  in  heaven,  and  things  inearth, 
and  things  under  the  earth  ;  and  that  every  tongue 
should  confess  that  Jesus  Christ  is  Lord,  to  the  glory 
of  God  the  Father,"  Phil.  ii.  8 — 11.  and  in  the  second 
psalm,  ver.  8,  Q.  ^'  Ask  of  mc,  and  I  will  give  thee 
the  heathen  for  thine  inheritance,  and  the  uttermost 
parts  of  the  earth  for  thy  possession.  Thou  shaft 
bre^  k  them  with  a  rod  of  iron,  thou  shalt  dash  them 
dn  pieces  like  ti  potter's  vessel.'^ 

This  is  the  dominion  of  which  he  took  possession. 

On  the  third  day  after  his  death,  angels  alight  upon 

^,his  tomb,  not  to  effect  his  resurrection  from  the  dead, 

felt  to. admire  the  wonders  of  it;  to  render  their 

profoundest 


Chrisfs  Sacerdotai  Prayer,  2^ 

profoundest  homage  to  that  divine  Man,  the  only 
dead  person  who  had  ever  revived  by  his  ow^n  pow- 
er ;  and  to  yield  obedience  to  that  mandate  of  the 
great  Supreme :  let  all  the  angels  of  God  worship  him, 
Heb.  i.  6.  Forty  days  after  his  resurrection,  he 
makes  a  cloud  to  serve  him  as  a  triumphal  chariot 
on  which  he  is  borne  aloft,  and  disappears  from  the 
eyes  of  his  beloved  disciples.  As  he  ascends  through 
the  regions  of  the  air,  to  occupy  a  throne  above  the 
skies,  the  church  triumphant,  and  all  the  spirits  in 
bliss,  unite  in  celebrating  his  return  to  heaven  with 
songs  of  praise :  the  celestial  arches  resound  with 
their  joyful  acclamations,  while  they  cry  aloud,  'Mift 
up  your  heads,  O  ye  gates,  and  be  ye  lift  up,  ye  ever- 
lasting doors,  and  the  King  of  glory  shall  come  in/' 
Psal.  xxiv.  7. 

On  his  arrival  at  the  habitation  of  his  glory,  he 
assumes  his  place  at  the  Father's  right  hand.  And 
thence  it  is  that  he  exercises  the  dominion  to  which 
'his  sufferings  and  death  have  exalted  him :  thence  it 
is  he  beholds  the  impotent  designs  of  the  enemies  of 
the  church,  and,  to  use  the  expression  of  scripture, 
laughs  at  them,  Psal.  ii.  4.  Thence  it  is  he  brings 
down  to  the  ground  the  heads  of  the  haughtiest  po- 
tentates :  thence  it  is  he  controuls  the  power  of  ty- 
rants, or  permits  it  to  act,  and  to  accomplish  his 
purpose  ;  thence  it  is  he  bends  his  eyes  upon  us,  my 
brethren  ;  that  he  hears,  and  regards,  and  answers 
the  prayers  which,  in  our  indigence,  we  present  at 
the  throne  of  grace  :  thence  it  is  he  beholds  St  Ste- 
phen, and  grants  the  petition  of  that  martyr,  from 
amidst  the  shower  of  stones  which  is  overwhelming 
him :  Lord  Jesus,  receive  my  spirit.  Acts  vii.  5C)- 
Thence  it  is  he  draws  to  himself  the  souls  of  our  ex- 
piring believers,  and  says  to  all  those  who  combat 
under  the  banners  of  the  cross :  "  to  him  that  over- 
fometh    will  I  grant  to  sit  witn  me    in  mv  throne," 

Eev. 


75  Christ's  Sacerdotal  Prater. 

Rev.  iii.  21.  "  be  thou  faithful  unto  death,  and  I  will 
give  thee  a  crown  of  life,"  Rev.  ii.  10. 

Such  is  the  glory  which  must  follow  the  sufferings 
and  death  of  the  Saviour  of  the  world.  Such  must 
be  the  perfection  of  that  unity  which  subsists  be- 
tween Jesus  Christ  Mediator  and  his  Father :  "  Father 
the  hour  is  come  :  glorify  thy  Son,  that  thy  Son  also 
may  glorify  thee.  ...  I  have  manifested  thy  name  un- 
to the  men  whom  thou  gavest  me  out  of  the  world, 
...  Those  that  thou  gavest  me  I  have  kept,  and  none 
of  them  is  lost  but  the  son  of  perdition.  ...  I  have 
glorified  thee  on  the  earth :  I  have  finished  the  work 
which  thou  gavest  me  to  do :  and  now,  O  Father, 
glorify  thou  me  with  thine  ownself,  with  the  glory 
which  I  had  with  thee,  before  the  world  was.'' 


SERMON     : 


SERMON  III. 

PART  II. 

Christ's  Sacerdotal  Prayer 


>  t>tic£e>tf^0e>efi^^  < 


John  xvii.  18—- 21. 


As  thou  hast  sent  me  into  the  worlds  even  so  have  Ials9 
sent  them  into  the  world.  And  for  their  sokes  1 
sanctify  myself,  that  they  ako  might  be  sanctified 
through  the  truth.  Neither  pray  I  for  these  alone  ^ 
but  for  them  also  which  shall  believe  on  me  through 
their  luord :  that  they  all  may  be  one ;  as  thou^ 
Father,  art  in  me,  and  I  in  thee,  that  they  also  may 
be  one  in  us  :  that  the  ivorld  may  believe  that  thou 
hast  sent  me. 


WE  have  seen  the  relation  which  subsists  be- 
tween Jesus  Christ  and  his  heavenly  Father. 
1.  A  relation  of  nature,  implied  in  that  glory  which 
he  had  with  the  Father  before  the  world  was.     2. 

There 


74  Christ'' s  Sacerdotal  Frayer. 

There  is  a  relation  of  economy  :  Jesus  Christ  as 
Mediator  is  one  with  God.  And  this  relation  consists 
of  three  particulars  :  (l.)  Unity  of  idea  :  (2.)  Unity 
of  will :  (3.)  Unity  of  dominion.     Let  us, 

II.  Consider  the  relation  subsisting  between  Je- 
sus Christ  and  his  apostles,,  not  in  their  character, 
simply,  of  believers  in  Christ,  but  principally  in  the 
view  of  their  public  character  as  apostles.  Let  us 
inquire,  in  what  sense  it  is  that  Jesus  Christ  makes  it 
his  request,  that  they  may  be  one  with  the  Father 
and  with  himself,  as  he  was  one  with  the  Father. 
This  is  the  second  object,  this  the  second  mystery^ 
to  which  we  now  call  upon  you  to  direct  your  seri- 
ous attention. 

Weigh  the  import  of  these  remarkable  words. 
^'  As  thou  hast  sent  me  into  the  world,  even  so  have 
I  also  sent  them  into  the  world :  and  for  their  sakes  I 
sanctify  myself,  that  they  also  might  be  sanctified 
through  the  truth."  Jesus  Christ  had  entered  into 
the  plan  of  the  eternal  Father,  respecting  the  salva- 
tion of  the  human  race-;  and  had  come  into  the  world 
to  put  it  in  execution.  It  was  necessary,  in  like  man- 
ner, that  the  apostles  should  enter  into  the  plan  of  this 
ilivijie  Saviour,  and  to  the  utmost  extent  of  their  abi- 
lity, should  labour,  together  with  him,  in  executing 
the  merciful  design.  And  as  Jesus  Christ,  in  order  to 
acquit  himself,  with  success,  of  this  ministry  whiclx 
w^as  committed  unto  him,  must  have  possessed,  with 
the  Father,  a  unity  of  idea,  of  will,  and  of  dominion, 
it  was  likewise  necessary  that  the  apostles  should  pos- 
sess this  threefold  unity  with  Jesus  Christ,  and  this 
precisely  is  the  substance  of  what  Jesus  Christ  prays 
for  in  their  behalf. 

] .  In  order  to  acquit  themselves  successfully  of 
the  functions  of  their  ministry,  it  was  necessary  that 
the  apostler-  should  participate  in  the  ideas  of  Jesus 

Christ, 


Chrisfs  Sacerdotal  Frat/er.  75 

Christ,  and  in  the  miaUibihty  of  his  doctrine.  He 
had  himself  said  10  them,  lie  that  heareth  you,  heareth 
me,  Luke  x.  10".  He  had  given  them  this  commis- 
sion :  "Go  ye,  and  teach  all  nations,  baptizing  them 
in  the  name  of  the  ^Father,  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy 
Spirit :  and,  lo,  I  am  with  you  always,  even  to  the 
end  of  the  world,"  Matt,  xxviii.  I9,  20. 

How  could  they  possibly  have  executed  this  com- 
mission to  any  advantage,  unless  they  had  participa- 
ted in  the  ideas  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  in  the  mfaliibi' 
lity  of  his  decisions  ?  What  dependance  could  we 
repose  on  their  testimony  had  it  been  liable  to  error  ? 
How  should  wx  implicitly  admit  the  oracles  which 
em.anated  from  the  apostolic  college,  if  they  were  to 
be  subjected  to  examination  at  the  tribunal  of  hu- 
man reason,  as  those  of  mere  human  teachers  ?  The 
slightest  alteration  affecting  the  assertion  of  the  infal- 
libility of  the  doctrine  of  these  holy  men,  subverts 
it  from  the  very  foundation.  The  moment  that  hu- 
man reason  assumes  a  right  to  appeal  from  their  de- 
cisions, it  is  all  over,  and  we  are  at  once  brought 
back  to  the  religion  of  nature.  And  the  moment 
we  are  brought  back  to  the  rehgion  of  nature,  we  are 
bewildered  in  all  the  uncertainty  of  the  human  un- 
derstanding; wearestill "  seekingtheLord,  if  haply  we 
might  fear  after  him,  and  find  him  :"  as  Acts  xvii.  27. 
did  the  Pagan  world.  We  are  still  saying,  as  did  the 
greatest  philosophers  of  the  Gentile  nations,  respect- 
ing inquiries  of  the  highest  importrjice  to  mankind ; 
IVho  can  tell P  Fer adventure.  We  are  treating  St 
Peter  and  St  Paul,  as  we  do  Socrates  and  Seneca. 

Now,  if  such  be  our  conditicn,  what  advantage  has 
the  Christian  over  the  Pagan  ?  \\  herein  consists 
the  f  uperiority  of  the  gospel  over  the  systems  of  "zhyq 
human  philosophy  ?  Away  with  a  Mispiciori  so  n- 
jurious  to  the  great  Author  and  Finisher  of  our  faith. 

He 


76  Christ's  Sacerdotal  Prajjer. 

He  has  supplied  his  church  with  every  thing  neces- 
sary to  a  clear  knowledge,  and  a  well-grounded  be- 
lief of  all  needful  truth.  When  he  committed  to 
the  hands  of  his  disciples,  the  ministry  of  his  gospel 
he  obtained  for  them,  in  substance,  the  illumination 
•which  he  himself  possessed,  for  the  successful  exer- 
cise of  it. 

2.  But  is  it  sufficient  to  possess  superior  illumina- 
tion, in  order  to  the  honourable  and  useful  exercise 
of  the  Christian  ministry  ?  Is  it  sufficient  to  speak 
with  the  tongues  of  men  and  of  angels  P  Is  it  sufficient 
to  be  endowed  with  the  gift  of  prophecy  ;  to  under- 
stand  all  my steries^  to  have  all  knowledge  P  1  Cor.  xiii. 
1.  Ah  I  how  fruitless  are  the  most  pathetic  sermons, 
if  the  preacher  himself  pretends  to  exemption  from 
the  obligations  which  he  would  impose  upon  other 
men  I  Ah  !  how  the  most  dazzling  and  sublime  elo- 
quence languishes,  when  tarnished  by  the  vices  of  the 
orator  I  This  position,  my  brethren,  admits  not  of  a 
doubt :  and  let  the  reflection,  however  humiliating, 
be  ever  present  to  our  thoughts  :  one  of  the  most  in- 
surmountable obstacles  to  the  efficacy  of  preaching, 
i^  tlie  irregular  life  of  preachers. 

If  this  reflection,  at  all  times,  rests  on  a  solid  foun- 
dation, it  was  particularly  the  case  with  regard  to 
those  ministers  whom  God  set  apart  to  the  office  of 
laying  the  very  first  foundations  of  his  church,  and 
to  be  themselves  the  pillar  and  ground  of  the  truth, 
1  Tim.  iii.  15.  With  what  dreadful  suspicions  must 
not  our  minds  have  been  perplexed,  had  we  seen  in 
the  persons  whom  Jesus  Christ  himself  immediately 
chose  to  be  his  successors,  the  abominations  which 
are  visible  in  many  of  those  who,  at  this  day,  pretend 
to  fill  his  place  in  the  church  ?  What  dreadful  sus- 
picions would  agitate  our  minds,  had  St  Peter  lived 
in  the  manner  of  some  of  those  who  have  called 
themselves   the   successors   of  St  Peter?  If  out  of 

the 


Christ^s  Sacerdotal  Frai/er.  ^'J 

the  same  mouth,  from  which  issued  those  gracious 
maxims  which  the  Holy  Spirit  has  preserved  for  our 
instruction,  there  had  proceeded,  at  the  same  time, 
those  iniquitous  sentences,  those  sanguinary  decrees, 
those  insolent  decisions,  which  have  tulminated  from 
the  mouths  of  certain  Pontiffs  bearing  tiie  Christian 
name  r  If  these  same  apostles,  who  preached  nothing 
but  superiority  to  the  world  :  nothing  but  humility, 
but  charity,  but  patience,  but  chastity,  had  been, 
like  some  of  their  pretended  successors,  addicted  to 
the  spirit  and  practice  of  revenge,  of  ambition,  of 
$imony  ;  magicians,  fornicators  ;  men  polluted  with 
abominations  which  the  majesty  of  this  place,  and 
the  sanctity  of  the  pulpit,  hardly  permit  me  to  insi- 
nuate? What  must  not  have  been  the  infamy  of 
committing  such  things,  when  the  bare  idea  of  them 
puts  modesty  to  the  blush  ? 

O  how  much  better  has  Jesus  Christ,  our  great 
leader  and  commander,  provided  whatever  was  ne- 
cessary for  the  good  of  his  church  !  During  the 
whole  course  of  his  life,  he  presented  a  model  of  the 
most  pure  and  consummate  virtue.  One  of  the  great 
ends  of  his  devotedness  to  death,  was  to  engage  his 
beloved  disciples  thence  to  derive  motives  to  the 
practice  of  holiness  :  this  is  the  sense  which  may  be 
assigned  to  that  expression  in  the  prayer,  which  he 
here  addresses  to  his  Father :  For  their  sakes  I  sancti- 
fy myself  that  they  may  be  sanctified,  ver.  19.  For 
them  I  sanctify  myself:  The  meaning  may  be,  "  I  la- 
"  hour  incessantly  to  excite  thy  love  within  me  ta 
"  a  brighter  and  a  brighter  flame,  not  only  because 
"  it  is  a  disposition  of  soul  the  most  becoming  an 
"  intelligent  creature,  but  that  I  may  serve  as  a  mo- 
"  del  to  them  who  are  to  diffuse  the  knowledge  of 
^'  my  gospel  over  the  world." 

Or,  according  to  the  interpretation  of  otliers  :  for 
ihem  1  sanctify  myself  that  they  maybe  sajictifed,  that 


78  ChrisCs  Sacerdotal  Prayer, 

is,  "I  devote  myself  to  death  for  my  disciples,  to 
'•  the  end  that,  beholding  in  my  sacrihce  the  horrors 
"  of  sin,  which  I  am  about  to  expiate,  and  the  over- 
"  flowings  of  my  affection  for  those  in  whose  place 
"  I  am  substituting  myself,  they  may  be  engaged  to 
"  exhibit  an  inviolable  attachment  to  thy  holy 
"  laws."  Which  ever  of  these  two  senses  we  affix  to 
the  words  of  our  blessed  Lord,  they  strongly  mark 
that  intense  application  of  thought  by  which  he  was 
animated,  to  inspire  his  disciples  with  the  love  of 
virtue. 

This  is  not  all ;  he  is  expressing  an  earnest  wish, 
that  assistance  from  heaven  might  supply  what  his 
absence  was  going  to  deprive  them  of :  For  the/71  I 
.sanctify  myself,  that  they  may  be  sanctified.  But  now 
1  leave  the  world.  My  disciples  are  going  to  lose  the 
benefit  of  my  instructions,  and  of  my  example.  May 
a  celestial  energy,  may  divine  communications  of  re- 
solution and  strength  occupy  my  place  :  "  I  pray  not 
thou  shouldest  take  them  out  of  the  world,  but  that 
thou  shouldest  keep  them  from  the  evil.  .  .  .  Sanctify 
them  through  thy  truth ;  thy  w^ord  is  truth :  as  thou 
hast  sent  me  into  the  world,  even  so  have  I  also  sent 
them  into  the  world :  and  for  their  sakes  I  sanctify  my- 
self, that  they  also  might  be  sanctified  through  the 
truth." 

3.  Finally,  Jesus  Christ  asks,  in  behalf  of  his  dis- 
ciples, a  participation  in  the  dominion  of  which  he 
himself  had  taken  possession.  He  had  already,  in 
part  conveyed  to  them  that  dominion  :  "  The  glory 
which  thou  gavest  me,  I  have  given  them ;  that  they 
may  be  one,  even  as  w^e  are  one,"  ver.  22.  What  is 
that  glory,  ivhich  the  Father  had  given  to  Jesus  Christ, 
and  which  Jesus  Christ  had  given  to  his  apostles  ?  A'» 
mong  a  variety  of  ideas  which  may  be  formed  of  it,  we 
must,  in  a  particular  manner,  miderstand  it  as  im- 
plying 


Christ's  Sa<:erdotal  Prayer.  79 

j^lying  the  gift  of  miracles.  In  virtue  of  this  power, 
those  sacred  ministers  were  enahled  to  carry  convic- 
tion to  the  human  mind,  with  an  energy  of  elo- 
quence altogether  divine.  The  resurrection  of  one 
who  had  been  dead  is  the  great  exordium  of  their 
sermons.  This  argument  they  oppose  to  all  the 
sophisms  of  vain  philosophy  :  "  This  Jesus  hath  God 
raised  up,  whereof  we  all  are  witnesses  :  therefore 
being  by  the  right  hand  of  God  exalted  ....  he  hath 
shed  forth  this  which  ye  now  see  and  hear,"  Acts  ii, 
32,  33.  They  confound  those  who  continue  proof 
against  conviction.  They  call  down  the  most  for- 
midable strokes  of  celestial  indignation  on  some  of 
those  who  had  dared  to  triHe  with  the  oath  of  fidelity 
plighted  to  their  divine  Master.  Ananias  and  Sap- 
phira  fall  dead  at  their  feet,  Acts  v.  9.  *' The  wea- 
pons of  our  warfare  are  not  carnal,  but  mighty, 
through  God,  to  the  pulling  down  of  strong  holds  : 
casting  dovv^n  imaginations,  and  every  high  thing  that 
exalteth  itself  against  the  knowledge  of  God,  and 
bringing  into  captivity  every  thought  to  the  obedi- 
ence of  Christ :  and  having  in  a  readiness  to  revenge 
ail  disobedience,"  2  Cor.  x.  4- — 6. 

But  this  is  not  tlie  whole  of  that  authority,  and 
the  whole  of  that  power,  which  Jesus  Christ  wishes 
to  be  conferred  on  his  disciples.  He  asks,  in  their  be- 
half, that  when  they  had,  like  him,  finished  the  work 
w^hich  they  had  given  them  to  do,  they  should  be  exalt- 
ed to  the  same  glory  ;  that  after  having  turned  manv 
to  righteousness,  they  might  shine  as  the  brightness  of 
the  firmament,  and  as  the  stars  for  ever  and  ever,  Dan. 
xii,  3.  This  is  what  he  had  promised  them  :  '  ■  I  ap- 
point unto  you  a  kingdom, as  my  Father  hath  appoint-^ 
ed  unto  me;  that  ye  may  eat  and  drink  at  my  table  in 
my  kingdom,  and  sit  on  thrones  judging  the  twelve 
tribes  of  Israel."  This  is  what  he  asks  for  them :  "  Fa- 
ther, I  will  that  they  also  whom  thou  hast  given  me  be 

r>,  wit]\ 


$0  Christ's  Sacerdotal  J^rayer^ 

with  me  where  I  am  ^  that  they  may  behold  my  glory 
which  thou  hast  given  me  :  for  thou  lovedst  me  be- 
fore the  foundation  of  the  world  ....  that  they  all 
may  be  one,  as  thou,  Father,  art  in  me,  and  I  in  thee: 
that  they  also  may  be  one  in  us,  ver.  24,  21. 

We  conclude  this  head  with  a  reflection  of  no 
small  importance :  namely  this.  That  among  the 
graces  which  Jesus  Christ  prays  for  in  behalf  of  his 
apostles,  must  be  comprehended  those  which  were 
necessary  to  the  persons  who  were  after  them  to  ex- 
ercise the  gospel  ministry.  Whatever  difference 
there  may  be  between  these  two  orders  of  ministers, 
they  are  the  objects  of  the  same  prayer.  Their  ta- 
lents were  to  differ  only  in  degree,  and  God,  at  this 
day,  limits  the  measure  of  them,  only  because  cir- 
cumstances have  varied,  and  miracles  are  no  longer 
necessary  to  the  church.  But  as  the  apostles  had,  in 
substance,  the  same  gifts  with  Jesus  Christ,  the  mi- 
nisters of  the  gospel  likewise  partake  in  the  gifts  of 
the  apostles,  because  they  have  received  the  same 
commission,  and  are  called  to  build  up  the  church, 
of  which  those  holy  men  laid  the  foundations. 

Lofty  idea  of  the  apostleship !  lofty  idea  of  the 
office  of  the  gospel-ministry !  The  apostles  entered 
with  Jesus  Christ  into  the  plan  of  the  redemption 
of  mankind,  as  Jesus  Christ  entered  into  it  with 
God.  And  the  ministers  of  the  gospel,  to  this  day, 
enter  into  the  same  plan  with  the  apostles,  as  the 
apostles  entered  into  it  with  Jesus  Christ.  The  eter- 
nal Father,  before  the  fotmdation  of  the  world,  Matt. 
XXV.  34.  foreseeing  the  deplorable  misery  in  which 
the  wretched  progeny  of  Adam  were  to  involve 
themselves,  traced  the  plan  of  redemption  :  from 
that  period  he  provided  the  victim  :  from  that  pe- 
riod he  set  apart  for  us  a  Redeemer  :  from  that  pe- 
riod, he  prepared  for  us  a  kingdom.  Jesus  Christ, 
in  the  fulness  of  time,  came  and  executed  this  plan. 

2  He 


Christ's  Sacerdotal  'Prayer,  8i 

He  assumed  our  flesh.  He  lived  among  us.  He 
suffered.  He  died.  "  I  have  glorified  thee  upon  the 
earth.  I  have  finished  the  work  which  thou  gavest 
me  to  do,"  ver.  4. 

The  apostles  succeeded  their  Master.  And  these 
holy  men,  with  that  heroic  courage  which  the  idea 
of  a  commission  so  honourable  inspires  into  generous 
minds,  braved  and  surmounted  all  the  dirficulties 
which  opposed  their  progress.  "They  trod  upon  the 
lion  and  adder  :  the  young  lion  and  dragon  they 
trampled  under  feet,"  Ps.  xci.  I3.  Power  was  given 
them  to  tread  on  serpents  and  scorpions,  and  over  all  the 
power  of  the  enemy,  Luke  x.  I9.  They  took  as  a 
model  in  their  course,  (it  is  an  idea  of  the  Psalmist) 
that  glorious  orb  of  day,  whose  going  forth  is  from 
tlie  end  of  the  heaven,  and  his  circuit  unto  the  ends  of 
it,  Ps.  xix.  6.  "  Yes,  verily,  their  sound  went  into 
all  the  earth,  and  their  Vv^ords  unto  the  ends  of  the 
world,"  Rom.  x.  18.  They  rose  superior  to  the 
powers  of  sense  and  nature  :  they  subdued  the  pas- 
sions which  have  naturally  the  greatest  influence  over 
the  heart  of  man  :  they  knew  no  man  after  the  flesh, 
2  Cor.  V.  16.  They  carried  on  their  souls  the  im- 
press of  their  Saviour's  virtues,  as  they  bare  his  marks 
imprinted  on  their  bodies. 

The  ministers  of  Jesus  Christ  assume  the  place  of 
the  apostles  :  they  have  one  and  the  same  vocation  : 
they  are  called  to  the  same  work  :  they  have  to  teach 
the  same  truths  ;  the  same  vices  to  reprove  ;  the 
same  maxims  to  establish  ;  the  same  threatenings  to 
denounce;  the  same  consolations  to  administer;  the 
same  felicity  and  the  same  glory  to  promise.  JVho 
is  sufficient  for  these  things  F  2  Cor.  ii.  10.  But  we 
are  upheld  by  you,  all-powerful  intercession  of  Je- 
sus Christ  with  his  Father  I  From  your  energy  it  is 
that  we  obtain,  in  our  retirements,  that  attention ^ 
that  composure^  that  concentration  of  thought  of 
which  we  stand  in  need,  in  order  to  penetrate  into 

VOL,  vr.  G  tho«ie 


S2  Christ's  Sacerdotal  Prai/er, 

those  lively  oracles  which  it  is  our  duty  to  a^iinounce 
to  this  people.  From  your  powerful  energy  it  is  we 
obtain  that  clearness,  that  fervour,  that  courage,  that 
elevation  of  spirit  of  which  we  stand  m  need  m  this 
chair  of  verity,  to  exalt  us  above  the  malignant  cen- 
sure of  a  murmuring  multitude,  ever  disposed  to 
find  fault  with  those  who  preach  the  truth.  To  you 
we  must  stand  for  ever  indebted  for  the  success  of 
our  ministry,  and  for  the  hope  we  entertain  that  this 
people,  to  whom  we  minister  in  holy  things,  shall 
one  day  be  our  joy  and  our  crown,  1  Thess.  ii.  I9. 

III.   Thus  are  we  led  forward,  my  brethren,  to 
the  third  division  of  our  discourse,  in  which  you  are 
most  particularly  interested.     It  is  truly  delightful 
to  behold  the  Author  arid  Finisher  of  our  faith  united, 
in  a  manner  so  intimate  with  Deity.     It  is  delight- 
ful to  behold  those   apostles,  whose  writings  are  in 
our  hands,  and  whose  doctrine  is  the  rule  of  our 
faith,  intimately  united  to  Jesus  Christ  as  he  is  with 
God.      There  is,  however,  something    behind    still 
more  particular  and  more  consolatory.    All  these  dif- 
ferent relations,  of  Jesus  Christ  with  God,  of  the  apos- 
tles with  Jesus  Christ,  have  been  formed  only  in  the  view 
of  producing  others,  and  these  affect  you.    Attend  to 
the  interest  which  you  have  in  the  prayer  of  Jesus 
Christ :  "  Neither  pray  I  for  these  alone,  but  for  them 
also  which  shallbelieve  on  me  through  their  word:  that 
they  all  may  be  one,  as  thou.  Father  art  in  me,  and  I  in 
thee;  that  they  also  may  be  one  in  us,"  ver.  20,  21. 
Awake  to  a  sense  of  the  dignity  of  your  high  call- 
ing :  contemplate  the  unbounded  extent  of  your  pri- 
I     vileges.     Behold  to  what  a  height  of  glory  you  are 
1     encouraged  to  aspire,  and  what  unspeakable  benefits 
you  already  derive  from  the  religion  of  the  blessed 
I      Jesus  I  Already  you  possess  wdth  God,  as  doth  Jesus 
Christ,  a  unity  of  ideas,  and  you  partake,,  in  some 
sense   of   his   infallibility,  by  subjecting  your  faith 
I     to  his  divine   oracles,  and  by  seeing,  if  I  may   use 
^  the 


Christ's  Sacerdotal  Vrayer,  §3 

the  expression,  bj  seeing  with  his  eyes.  Ah-eady 
you  have  with  God,  as  Jesus  Christ  hath,  a  unity  of 
will,  by  the  reception  of  his  laws,  and  by  exerting 
all  your  powers  that  his  will  may  be  done  on  earth  as 
it  is  done  in  heaven.  Already  you  enjoy  with  God, 
as  doth  Jesus  Christ,  a  unity  of  dominion  :  "  all  things 
are  yours  ;  whether  Paul,  or  Apollos,  or  Cephas,  or 
the  world,  or  life,  or  d^ath,"  1  Cor.  iii.  21,  22.  "  You 
are  already  partakers  of  a  divine  nature,"  2  Pet.  i.  4, 
"  You  are  already  transformed  into  the  same  image, 
from  glory,  even  a&  by  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord,"  2 
Cor.  iii.  18. 

But  how»is  this  union  still  marred  and  interrupted  \ 
How  imperfect  still  this  "participation  of  the  divine  na- 
ture  and  this  transformation  into  the  same  image  I  Let 
this  be  to  us,  my  brethren,  a  source  of  humiliation, 
"  but  not  of  dejection.  A  more  glorious  state  of 
things  is  to  succeed  the  present :  //  doth  not  yet  appear 
what  we  sliall  be :  but  ive  know  that  when  he  shall  ap- 
pear we  shall  be  like  him  ;  for  tve  shall  see  him  as  he  is, 
1  John  iii.  2.  A  new  influx  of  light  with  which  tlK- 
soul  shall  be  replenished,  a  new  influx  of  divine  lov^. 
with  which  the  heart  shall  be  inflamed,  a  new  influx 
of  felicity  ancMelight  with  which  the  immortal  na- 
ture shall  be  inundated,  are  going,  ^ere  long,  to 
place  in  its  brig^est  point  of  view,  all  the  sublimity- 
all  the  excellency  of  our  condition.  "  Father,  I  pray 
not  for  my  disciples  alone,  but  for  them  also  who  shall 
believe  in  me  through  their  word  :  that  they  all  may 
be  one  ;  as  thou.  Father,  art  in  me,  and  I  in  thee  ; 
that  they  also  may  be  one  in  us." 

But  how  is  it  possible  for  the  miserable  posterity 
of  Adam,  how  is  it  possible  for  wretched  creatures 
born  in  sin,  how  is  it  possible  for  frail  mortals,  a  com- 
pound of  dust  and  ashes,  that  dwell  in  houses  of  clay  ^ 
whose  foundation  is  in  the  dust^  which  are  crushed  he- 
fore  the  moth,  Job  iv.  I9.  how  is  it  possible  for  beings 

sa 
2 


84  Christ's  Sacerdotal  Prayer. 

so  mean,  so  degraded,  to  become  one  with  God,  as 
Jesus  Christ!  s  one  with  him  ? 

Away,  Christians,  awaj  with  every  shade  of  in- 
creduUty.  Nothing  is  too  great  for  this  prayer  to 
procure.  There  is  nothing  that  God  can  deny  to 
this  dying  Intercessor.  Let  the  mind  be  filled  to  its 
utmost  capacity,  with  all  that  is  vast  and  affecting 
in  the  sacrifice  which  Jesus  Christ  was  about  to  pre- 
sent to  his  Father.  Consider  that  God  is  love,  1  John 
iv.  16.  And  what  could  the  God  who  is  loie  refuse 
to  the  Redeemer  of  the  world,  at  the  moment  when 
he  was  going  to  devote  himself,  with  such  ardour  of 
aftection,  for  the  salvation  of  mankind  ?  Behold 
him  the  Redeemer  of  a  lost  world,  behold  him 
ready  to  affix  the  seal  to  the  great  work  which  God 
had  committed  to  him :  behold  him  prepared  to  be 
led  as  a  lamb  to  the  slaughter,  and  as  a  sheep,  dumb  be- 
fore her  shearers.  Is.  liii.  7.  behold  him  prepared  to 
undergo  that  punishment,  the  bare  idea  of  which 
makes  nature  shudder :  behold  him  prepared  to  en- 
ter into  the  deep  mire  where  there  is  no  standing,  of 
w^hich  the  prophets  speak,  Ps.  Ixix.  2.  and  all  this 
out  of  that  love,  and  all  this  from  that  principle  of 
charity  which  glowed  in  his  compasstjinate  breast. 

At  that  moment  of  love,  at  that  moment  which 
embraces  an  eternity — pardon  niQ-  the  expression, 
my  friends,  and  condemn  me  not,  if  in  a  subject 
which  has  nothing  human,  I  am  constrained  to  em- 
ploy modes  of  speech  which  are  not  in  common  use 
among  men — at  that  moment  which  embraces  a 
whole  eternity,  when  charity  was  carried  as  far  as  it 
could  go,  this  Redeemer  presents  himself  before  the 
God  of  love,  and  asks  of  him,  that  in  virtue  of  this 
sacrifice  of  love,  which  he  is  going  to  offer  up,  all 
the  faithful,  this  people,  you,  my  dearly  beloved 
brethren,  you  might  be  crowned  with  the  felicity 
and  with  the  glory  with  which  he  himself  was  to  be 
crowned ;  but  to  which,  love  would  have  rendered 
hrm  insensible,  had  he  not  promised  himself  to  com- 
municate 


Chnsts's  Sacerdotal  Prayer.  85 

municate  them,  one  day,  to  men,  the  objects  of  his 
tenderest  affection. 

O  mysteries  of  redemption,  how  far  you  tran- 
scend all  expression,  all  thought !  Ye  angels  of 
light,  who  live  in  the  bosom  of  glory,  turn  aside 
your  eyes  from  beholding  wonders  which  dazzle  the 
heaven  of  heavens:  bend  lowly  over  the  mystical 
ark,  and  search  it  to  the  bottom.  And  you,  for 
whom  all  these  wonders  are  wrought,  children  of 
fallen  Adam,  bow  down  in  gratitude  and  adoration, 
and  measure,  if  you  can,  the  dimensions,  tJie  length, 
the  breadth,  the  height,  the  depth,  of  that  abyss  which 
passeth  knoivledge,  Eph.  iii.  18,  Ip. 

My  brethren,  there  is  an  air  of  credulity  and  su- 
perstition in  what  passes  between  a  dying  person,  and 
a  minister    who    is    endeavouring    to    fortify    him 
against  the  fears  of  death.     The  minister  has  the  ap- 
pearance of  an  impostor,  and  the  dying  person  of  a 
visionary.     We    promise  to   a  man  extended  on  a 
sick  bed,  to  a  man  who  is  in  a  few  days  to  be  shut 
up^n  a  tomb,  and  to  become  a  prey  to  worms,  we 
promise  him  an  eternal  abode,  and  rivers  of  pleasures : 
we  assure  him  that  he  is  the  favourite  of  heaven,  at 
the  very  moment  when  he  is  going  to  become  the 
abhorrence  of  the  earth,  at  the  very  moment  when 
corruption  and  rottenness  are  hastening  to  put  to 
fliglit  from  his  person  his  most  affectionate  friends. 
These  pretensions  are,  however,  incontestable.     They 
are  founded  on  the  charitable  prayers  which  the  Re- 
deemer of  men  addressed  to  the  God  of  love,  at  the 
time  when  he  himself  was  perfected  in  love  :    "  / 
'*  have  glorified  thee  on  the  earth  :  I  have  finisJied  the 
"  tuorP^  which  thou  gavest  me  to  do,  and  I  tim  going  to 
"  seal  with  my  blood  that  awful  ministry  which  thou 
''  hast  committed  unto  me.     Grant  to  my  obedi- 
'*  ence,  grant  to  the  prayers  and  to  the  blood  of  thy 
'*  expiring  Son,  that  Vvhich  is  most  capable  of  su])- 
*•  porting  him  amidst  those  fearful  obiccts  with  \^hich 

"   he 


86  Christ's  Sacerdotal  Fraytr. 

"  he  is  surrounded;  it  is  the  salvation  of  that  world 
"  of  behevers,  who  are  to  embrace  my  doctrine  : 
**  '  Father,  I  will  that  where  lam,  those  whom  thou  hast 
"  given  me  may  be  there  also  with  me,  that  they  may 
"  behold  my  glory  :  and  I  pray  not  for  them  only, 
"  but  also  for  these  w^io  shall  believe  in  thee  through 
"  their  word.'  " 

These  prayers,  my  brethren,  are  stiil  presented. 
Jesus  Christ  is  still  doing  in  heaven,  what,  in  the 
days  of  his  flesh,  he  did  upon  earth:  he  is  even  at  the 
rigJithand  of  God,  where  he  still  7?iaketh  intercession  for 
us,  Rom.  viii.  34.  He  is  still  "  able  to  save  them  to  the 
uttermost,  that  come  unto  God  by  him,  seeing  he  ever 
liveth  to  make  intercession  for  them,"  Pleb.  vii.  25.  But 
do  we  avail  ourselves  of  these  prayers  ?  But  are  w^e 
seconding  this  intercession  ?  Alas  I  I  was  preparing 
to  set  open  to  you  all  the  treasures  of  consolation 
which  we  see  issuing  from  a  dying  Saviour's  prayers. 
But  I  find,  in  that  prayer,  one  word  which  stops 
me  short ;  one  w^crd  which  terrifies  me  ;  one  word 
w^hich  suggests  an  inquiry  that  awakens  a  thousand 
solicitudes  :  Are  we  in  tiie  class  of  those  for  whom 
Jesus  Christ  prayed  to  the  Father ;  or  are  we  of  those 
for  w^hom,  he  tells  us,  he  prayed  not?  Does  it  con- 
tain the  sentence  of  our  absolution  ;  or  that  of  our 
eternal  condemnation  ?  You  have  heard  this  word  ; 
but  have  you  seriously  weighed  its  import  ?  Have 
you  listened  to  it  with  that  composure,  and  with 
that  application  which  it  demands  ?  The  word -is 
this:  "  I  pray  not  for  the  world;  I  pray  for  those  whom 
thou  hast  given  me/'  vcr.  Q.  My  disciples  for  whom 
I  pray  to  thee,  are  not  of  the  ivorki,  even  as  I  am  ?iot 
of  the  luorld,  ver.  14. 

We  frame  for  ourselves  a  morality  that  suits  cur 
own  fancy.  We  look  upon  a  worldly  spirit  as  a 
matter  of  trivial  importance,  which  it  is  scarcely 
worth  while  to  think  of  correcting.  A  preacher 
who  should  take  upon  him  to  condemn  this  disposi- 
tion of  mind,  would  pass  for  a  mere  declaimer,  who 

abused 


Christ's  Sacerdotal  Grayer,  87 

abused  the  liberty  given  him,  of  talking  alone  from 
the  i^ulpit.  A  worldly  life,  wasted  in  dissipation, 
in  pleasure,  at  play,  at  public  spectacles,  has  nothing 
terrifying  in  our  eyes.  But  be  pleased  to  learn 
from  Jesus  Christ  whether  or  not  a  worldly  spirit  be 
a  trivial  matter.  But  learn  of  Jesus  Christ  what  are 
the  fatal  effects  of  a  worldly  mind.  It  is  an  exclu- 
sion from  the  glorious  catalogue  of  those  for  whom 
Jesus  Christ  intercedes.  It  destroys  the  right  of  pre- 
tending to  those  blessings  which  the  Saviour  requests 
in  behalf  of  his  church  :  "  I  pray  not  for  ttie  world;  I 
pray  for  them  whom  thou  hast  given  me,"  My  disci- 
ples, for  wiiom  I  pray  to  thee,  are  not  of  the  world, 
even  as  I  mn  not  of  the  world. 

Would  you  wish  to  know  whether  Jesus  Christ  is 
an  intercessor  for  you  ?  Would  you  wish  to  know 
whether  you  are  of  the  number  of  them  who  shall, 
one  day,  be  where  Jesus  Christ  is  ?  See  whether  you 
can  distinguish  yourself  by  this  character,  they  are 
not  of  the  world,  even  as  I  am  not  of  tJw  world.  And 
what  is  it  not  to  be  of  the  world  } 

Not  to  be  of  the  world,  is  not  to  live  in  deserts 
and  in  solitudes  :  it  is  not  for  a  man  to  bury  himself 
before  he  is  dead,  and  to  pass  his  life  as  it  were  in  a 
tomb.  Jesus  Christ  and  his  apostles  lived  in  society; 
but  they  sanctified  society  by  useful  instruction  and 
by  a  holy  example  ;  but  they  were  the  light  of  the 
world,  and  if  they  mingled  in  the  midst  of  a  crooked 
and  perverse  nation,  they  were  bla?neless  and  har??2less^ 
and  without  rebuke  ;  and  shone  among  them. 

Not  to  be  of  the  world,  is  not  to  abantlon  the 
reins  of  government  to  ruffians.  Jesus  Christ  and 
his  a]X)stles  permitted  Christians  to  occupy  the  most 
distinguished  stations  in  society  ;  but  it  was  their 
wish  and  endeavour,  that  while  they  filled  such  sta- 
tions, they  should  guard  against  the  illusion  of  their 
own  lustre  :  that  they  should  not  imagine  themselves 
exalted  to  terrestrial  greatness  merely  to  display  their 
^r.vn  vain  self-importance,  but  that  they  should  ever 

keep 


.^H  Christ^ s  Sacerdotal  Prater, 

keep  in  view  the  necessities   of  those  whose  happi- 
ness is  entrusted  to  their  care. 

Not  to  be  of  the  world,  is  not  to  break  off  all  re- 
lation with  the  world,  to  be  always  absorbed  in  me- 
ditation, in  contemplation,  in  extasies.  No,  reli- 
gion is  adapted  to  the  various  relations  of  human 
life  ;  to  fathers,  to  children,  to  masters,  to   servants. 

But  not  to  be  of  the  world,  is  never  to  lose  sight 
even  in  the  distraction  of  worldly  concerns,  of  the 
end  which  God  proposed  to  himself,  when  he  placed 
us  in  the  world  :  it  is  constantly  to  recollect  that  we 
have  a  soul  to  be  saved  ;  an  account  to  render  ;  a 
hell  to  shun  ;  a  heaven  to  gain  :  it  is  habitually  to 
direct,  toward  these  great  objects,  the  edge  of  our 
spirit,  the  vivacity  of  our  passions,  the  ardour  of  our 
desires  :  it  is  to  be  able  to  say,  at  the  close  of  life, 
with  Jesus  Christ,  as  far  as  tlie  infinite  distance  he- 
tween  the  sanctity  of  this  divine  Saviour  and  ours 
can  permit :  "  Father,  I  have  glorified  thee  on  the 
earth,  I  have  finished  the  work  which  thou  gavest  me 
to  do.  I  have  fought  the  good  fight :  I  have  kept  the 
faith,"  2  Tim.  iv.  7.  Wo  be  to  the  man  who,  at  that 
fatal  period,  shall  be  reduced  to  the  necessity  of  hold- 
ing an  opposite  language,  and  of  saying,  "  Scarcely 
"  have  I,  as  yet,  put  my  hand  to  the  works  which 
"  thou  gavest  me  to  do.  Scarcely  have  I  employed 
"  an  instant  of  my  time  in  meditating  on  eternity.  " 
VVo  be  to  the  nian  who  shall  then  have  cause  to 
say  :  and  ah  !  how  many  such  are  there,  under  the 
name  of  Christians  !  "'  I  have  employed  part  of  my 
"  life  in  cultivating  my  estate,  in  swelling  my  re- 
* '  venue,  in  pull  big  doiun  my  barns  andhuildm^  (greater  ^ 
"  Luke  xii.  18.  I  have  devoted  another  to  the  de- 
"  lights  of  a  present  life,  to  refinement  in  pleasure. 
*'  A  third  has  been  employed  in  gratifying  the  most 
'*  criminal  appetites,  in  vomiting  out  blasphemy 
•'  against  nr>-  l^^eiio factor,  in  waging  vrar  with  reli- 
gion, 


Christ's  Sacerdotal  prayer,  89 

"  gion,  morals  and  common  decency,  in  scanda- 
"  lizing  the  church  of  God  by  my  impurities  and 
"  excess.  " 

Let  us  not  be  ingenious  in  practising  illusion  upon 
ourselves.  Let  us  not  amuse  ourselves  with  unpro- 
fitable speculations  respecting  the  meaning  of  these 
words,  I  pray  not  for  the  ivorid.  What  bold  and  rash 
researches  have  the  schools  pursued  on  the  subject 
of  this  saying  of  Christ  ?  What  chimerical  conse- 
quences have  not  been  deduced  from  it  ?  But  from 
these  I  must  still  revert  to  this  grand  principle  :  Are 
you  of  the  world,  or  are  you  not  of  the  world  ? 
Say  not  in  thine  heart,  Who  shall  ascend  into  heaven!^ 
or,  JVho  shall  descend  into  the  deep  ?  the  ivord  is  nigh 
thee,  even  in  thy  mouth,  and  in  thy  heart,  Ronri.  x.  6, 
— 8.  The  friendship  of  the  luorld  is  enmity  with  God. 
James  iv.  4.  If  you  are  of  the  world,  you  are  not  of 
the  number  of  those  for  whom  Jesus  Christ  pleads. 
If  you  are  not  of  the  v/orld,  you  are  within  the  decree 
of  his  election:  he  has  interceded  for  you,  and  you 
are  Avarranted  to  expect  all  the  fruits  of  his  inter- 
cession. 

These  reflections  will  probably  excite,  in  some, 
many  a  painful  apprehension,  amounting  to  a  convic- 
tion that  you  are  in  the  dreadful  class  of  those  for 
whom  Christ  intercedes  not.  But  if  it  be  high  time 
to  renounce  this  world,  by  acts  of  penitence,  of  mor- 
tification, of  a  sincere  return  unto  God,  let  us  pro-> 
portion  these  acts  to  the  degree  of  criminality  which 
renders  them  necessary.  The  love  of  the  world  has 
Inspired  a  taste  for  voluptuousness  :  let  us  deny  our- 
selves by  a  course  of  abstinence,  during  the  passion 
weeks,  even  from  what  is  necessary  to  nature  ■^.  The 
love  of  the  world  has  transported  us  into  excesses  of 
worldly  joy :  let  us  clothe  ourselves  in  sackcloth 
and  ashes,  during  the  passion  weeks,  or  rather  let  us 
])resent  unto  God  the  sacrifice  of  a  broken  mid  con/ rite 
heart,  Ps.  li.  ig.  Let  us  make  extraordinary  elTorts 
to  disarm  his  wrath,  ever  enkindled  against  the  abo- 
minations 
*  Docs  not  this  y^a^sage  savour  some^vhat  too  strongly  of  Popery? 


90  Christ's  Sacerdotal  Prat/cr, 

minations  of  the  Christian  world.  Let  us  say  to 
him  a  thousand  and  a  thousand  times,  as  we  turn 
our  eyes  toward  the  cross  of  Jesus  Christ :  O  Lord^ 
righteousness  belongeth  unto  thee^  hut  unto  us  confusion 
of  faces :  Dan.  ix.  7.  Let  us  entreat  him  by  those 
bowels  of  love  which  prompted  him  to  restore  a  fal- 
len world,  that  he  would  disunite  us  from  the  crea- 
ture, and  unite  us  to  himself. 

If  we  act  in  this  manner,  we  have  every  thing  to 
expect  from  a  God  whose  great  leading  chai*acter  is 
love.  Ke  will  take  pity  on  this  wretched  people. 
He  will  have  compassion  on  these  miserable  pro- 
vinces, in  which  it  seems  as  if  every  individual  had 
undertaken  the  task  of  shutting  his  own  eyes,  in  or- 
der to  precipitate  himself,  with  the  greater  indiffe- 
rence, into  the  abyss  which  is  gaping  to  swallow  us 
up :  he  will  repress  those  sea-piracies  which  have 
reduced  so  many  families,  and  impaired  the  general 
commerce :  he  will  remove  those  dreadful  plagues 
which  have  rumed  so  maiiy  respectable  communities 
as  well  as  individuals:  he  will  stop  tliose  fearful  in- 
undations which  ha.ve  already  committed  such  de^ 
vastatic-ii  in  the  midst  of  us,  and  which  still  occasion 
so  many  well-grounded  alarms :  he  will  reconcile  the 
hearts  of  the  potentates  of  Europe,  snd  engage  them 
to  use  their  united  efforts  to  pron^ote  the  happiness 
and  the  glory  of  the  Christian  world. 

Much  more,  if  we  are  not  of  the  world,  we  shall 
partake  of  delights  which  the  world  knows  not  of, 
and  which  it  cannot  take  from  us,  as  it  cannot  be- 
stow. If  we  are  not  of  the  world,  we  shall  have 
cause  of  self-gratulation,  with  our  divine  Master, 
that  we  are  not  like  those  desperate  madmen  who 
seem  resolutely  bent  on  mutual  and  self  destruction  ; 
and  in  these  sentiments  shall  thus  address  ourselves 
to  God ;  O  righteous  Father,  the  world  hath  not  known 

thee : 


Christ* s  Sacerdotal  Froijer.  Ql 

thee:  but  I  have  kimwn  thee,  ver.  25.  It  we  are  not 
of  the  world,  w^e  shall  be  animated  with  a  holy  in- 
trepidity, when  death  takes  us  out  of  the  world, 
nay  when  the  world  and  its  foundations  crumble 
into  dust  beneath  our  feet. 

We  shall  be  iilled  with  joy  unspeakable  when  w^e 
reflect,  that  we  are  leaving  a  world  of  which  we  were 
not,  to  go  to  that  of  which  we  are  citizens.  We  shall 
say,  amidst  the  tears  and  lamentation  of  a  last  adieu : 
"  It  is  true,  my  dear  children,  it  is  true,  my  dear 
"  friends,  I  leave  you  upon  the  earth  :  but  my  Jesus 
*'  is  in  heaven,  and  I  go  to  be  where  he  is :  having  a  de- 
"  sire  to  depart,  and  to  he  with  Christ,  which  is  far  bet- 
"  ter :  Phil.  i.  23  *  it  is  true,  I  tear  myself  from 
"  you,  and  it  is  like  tearing  me  from  myself ;  but 
"  this  mournful,  is  not  an  everlasting  separation. 
"  Jesus  Christ  has  prayed  equally  for  you  and  for 
"  me.  He  has  asked  for  me  and  for  you,  that  we 
"  should  all  be  ivhcrc  he  is,  that  we  7naii  all  be  one  in 
"  him  and  with  the  Father :  and  I  only  go  before 
"  you  a  fev/  instants  into  this  state  of  blessedness." 

Ah  I  God  grant,  that  after  having  preached  the 
gospel  to  you,  we  may  be  enabled  to  say,  with  Jesus 
Christ,  at  our  dying  hour  ;  Father,  those  that  thou 
gavest  me  I  have  kept,  and  none  of  them  is  lost!  ver.  12. 
God  grant  that  there  may  be  no  son  of  perdition  in 
this  assembly  I  May  God  vouchsafe  to  hearken  to 
the  prayer  which  we  present  in  your  behalf,  in  this 
place,  and  which  we  shall  present  to  him  on  a  dying 
bed  :  or  rather  may  God  vouchsafe  to  hear  the  prayer 
which  Jesus  Christ  presents  for  us :  Father,  I  will 
that  they  whom  thou  hast  given  me  be  with  me  where  I 
am;  that  they  may  behold  my  glory  I  Amen.  To  the 
Father,  to  the  Son,  and  to  the  Holy  Spirit  be  ho- 
nour and  glory  for  ever.     Amen. 


SERMON 


SERMON  IV. 

The  Crucifixion. 

Matth.  xxvii.  45 — 53. 

Now  from  the  sixth  hour  there  was  darkness  over  all 
the  land  unto  the  ninth  hour.  And  about  the  ninth 
hour  Jesus  cried  with  a  loud  voice,  saying,  Eli,  Eli^ 
lama  sabachthani^  that  is  to  say.  My  God,  my  God, 
why  hast  thou  forsaken  me^  Some  of  them  that 
stood  there,  when  they  heard  that,  said.  This  man 
calleth  for  Elias,  And  straightway  one  of  them  ran, 
and  took  a  spunge,  and  filled  it  with  vinegar,  and 
put  it  on  a  reed,  and  gave  him  to  drink.  The  rest 
said.  Let  be,  let  us  see  whether  Elias  will  come  to 
save  him,  Jesus,  when  he  had  cried  again  with  a 
loud  voice,  yielded  up  the  ghost.  And,  behold,  the 
vail  of  the  temple  was  rent  in  twain  from  the  top  to 
the  bottom :  and  the  earth  did  quake,  and  the  rocks 
rent;  and  the  graves  were  ope7ied ;  and  many  bodies 
of  saints  which  slept  arose,  and  came  out  of  the  graves 
after  his  resurrection,  and  went  into  the  holy  city, 
and  appeared  unto  many, 

WE  are  going  to  set  before  you  this  day,  my 
Christian  friends,  the  concluding  scene  of 

the 


94  The  Crucifixion, 

the  most  dreadful  spectacle  that  ever  the  sun  beheld. 
On  beholding  the  order,  the  preparations,  and  the 
approaching  completion  of  the  sacrifice  of  Isaac,  the 
soul  is  thrown  into  astonishment.  A  father  binding 
his  own  son  with  cords,  extending  him  upon  a  fu- 
neral-pile, raising  up  an  armed  right-hand  to  pierce 
his  bosom  ;  and  all  this  by  the  command  of  heaven  ! 
What  a  prodigy  I  At  such  a  sight  Reason  mumurs^ 
Faith  is  staggered,  and  Providence  seems  to  labour 
under  an  indelible  imputation.  But  a  seasonable  and 
happy  interposition  dissipates  all  this  darkness.  An 
angel  descends  from  heaven,  a  voice  pierces  the  yield- 
ing air :  "  Abraham,  Abraham  ;  lay  not  thy  hand 
upon  the  lad  \  for  now  I  know  that  thou  fearest  God, 
seeing  thou  hast  not  withheld  thy  son,  thine  only  son 
from  me,"  Gen.  xxii.  12.  And  this  revolution  si- 
lences the  murmurings  of  reason,  re-establishes  our 
faith,  and  vindicates  the  ways  of  Providence. 

A  greater  than  Isaac,  my  brethren,  a  greater  than 
Abraham  i^  here.  This  sacrifice  must  be  completed  ; 
this  victim  must  die  ;  this  burnt-offering  must  be 
reduced  to  ashes.  In  the  preceding  chapters  you 
have  seen  the  command  given,  the  scaffold  erected, 
the  arm  extended  to  smite  the  devoted  Jesus.  You 
are  going  to  behold  him  expire ;  no  victim  substi- 
tuted in  hiH  room  ;  no  revocation  of  the  decree,  and 
instead  of  inquiring  like  Isaac,  "  behold  the  fire  and 
the  wood  ;  but  where  is  the  lamb  for  a  burnt-offer- 
ing?" ver.  7.  he  saith,  io,  I  come  ;  ,  ,  ,  ,  to  do  thy 
ivill,  O  my  God,  Ps.  xl.  7,  8.  Jesus  expires  ;  the 
dead  leave  their  tombs  :  the  sun  withdraws  his  light : 
Nature  is  convulsed  at  the  sight  of  her  Creator  dying 
upon  a  cross.  And  the  Son  of  God's  love,  before  he  ut- 
ters his  last  sigh,  gives  a  free  course  to  his  com- 
plaints, and  makes  an  astonished  world  re-echo  those 
mournful  sounds  :  my  God,  my  God,  luhy  hast  thou 
forsaken  me  P  ver.  46. 

AncJ 


The  Crucifimon.  95 

And  you,  Cliristians,,  what  are  you  to  become  at 
beholding  this  spectacle  ;  and  what  effects  are  these 
objects  to  produce,  that  shall  be  in  any  proportion 
to  their  magnitude  ?  With  whatever  success  our  hap- 
piest addresses  to  you  may  be  crowned,  your  actions 
must  ever  fall  far  short  of  your  obligations  and  en- 
gagements..    It   is  possible,  however,  that,  on  cer- 
tain points,  we  may  have  commendation  only  to  be- 
stow.    When  restitution  is  the  theme,  some  one,  per- 
haps, conscience-struck,  some  Zaccheus  is  induced  to 
restore  fouifold.     When  the  doctrine  of  forgiveness 
and  reconciliation  is  preached,  some  one,  smitten  to 
the  heart,  is,  it  may  be,  disposed  to  open  his  arms 
to  an  estranged  brother.     Bat  what  fruit  can  this 
discourse  produce,  capable  of,  I  do  not  say,  fulfilling 
your  obligations,  but  that  shall  bear  any  manner  of 
proportion  to  them  ?  Were  your  hearts,  hencefor- 
ward, to  burn  with  the  purest  and  most  ardent  affec- 
tion ;  were  your  eyes  to  become  a  living  fountain  of 
tears  ;  were  every  particle  of  your  frame  to  serve  as 
a  several  victim  to  penitence  ;  were  this  vaulted  roof 
to  cleave  asunder  ;  were  the  dead,  deposited  in  these 
tombs,  to  start  up  into  life  :  What  would  there  be  in 
all  this  that  is  not  absorbed  of  the  objects  which  Vv^e 
are  going  to  display  ? 

Come  and  clothe  yourselves  in  mourning  with 
the  rest  of  Nature.  Come,  with  the  centurion, 
and  recognize  your  Bedeemer  and  your  God  ;  and 
let  the  sentiments  which  severally  occupy  all  these 
hearts  and  minds  unite  in  this  one  :  "  I  am  crucified 
with  Christ;  nevertheless  I  live:  yet  not  I,  but 
Christ  liveth  in  me  :  and  the  life  which  I  now  live  in 
the  flesh,  I  live  by  the  faith  of  the  Son  of  God,  who 
loved  me,  and  gave  himself  for  me,"  Gal.  ii.  20. 
Amen. 

That  you  may  derive  from  the  words  which  we 

liave 


q6  The  Crucifixion. 

have  read,  tlie  fruit  which  the  Holy  Spirit  presents 
to  us  in  them,  we  shall,  1.  Attempt  some  elucidation 
of  the  letter  of  the  text :  and  then,  2.  Endeavour  to 
penetrate  into  the  spirit  of  it,  and  dive  to  the  bot- 
tom of  the  mysteries  which  it  contains. 

I.  We  begin  with  attempting  some  elucidation  of 
the  letter  of  the  text.     And, 

1.  Our  first  remark  turns  on  the  time  which  the 
evangelist  assigns  to  the  first  events  which  he  is  here 
relating  '.from  the  sixth  hour^  says  he,  "  there  was  dark- 
ness unto  the  ninth  hour :  and  about  the  ninth  hour  Jesus 
cried  with  a  loud  voice,"  and  so  on.  Respecting  which 
it  is  to  be  observed  that  the  Jews  computed  the  hours 
of  the  day  from  sun-rising.  The  first  from  sun- 
rising  was  called  one  hour  ;  the  second  tivo,  and  so 
of  the  rest :  from  the  sixth  hour  to  the  ninth  hour  ;  in 
other  words,  from  noon  till  three  of  the  clock  af- 
ternoon. 

But  v*hat  merits  a  more  particular  attention  is 
this,  that  the  evangelists  appear  here  to  vary  in  their 
testimony  ;  at  least  St  Mark  tells  us,  ch.  xv.  25. 
that  part  of  the  events  which  the  other  evangelists 
say  took  place  about  the  ninth  hour,  happened  at  the 
third  hour.  A  single  remark  will  resolve  this  diffi- 
culty. The  Jews  employed  another  method  in  com- 
puting time,  besides  that  which  we  have  indicated. 
They  divided  the  day  into  four  intervals.  The  first- 
comprehended  the  space  from  the  first  to  the  third 
hour  of  the  day  inclusively :  the  second,  from  the 
end  of  the  third  hour  of  the  day  to  the  sixth :  and 
so  of  the  rest  *.  This  mode  of  computation,  if  cer- 
tain doctors  are  to  be  credited,  took  its  rise  from  the 
custom  which  was  observed  in  the  temple,  of  pre- 
senting 

^  See  Grotius  on  MaU.  xxvli.  45, 


The  Crucijixion,  97 

senting  prayers  and  sacrifices  at  the  third,  the  sixth, 
and  the  ninth  hour.  Now  the  Jews  sometimes  de- 
nominated the  whole  of  this  first  interval,  which 
contained  three  hours  of  the  day,  one  hour,  or  the 
first  hour.  The  second  interval  they  denominated 
tivo^  or  the  second  hour,  which  contained  the  second 
three  hours,  and  so  of  the  rest.  This  remark  solves 
the  apparent  difficulty  which  we  pointed  out.  Some 
of  the  evangelists  have  followed  the  first  mode  of 
computation,  and  others  have  adopted  the  second. 
The  ni?ith  hour  in  the  style  of  St  Matthew,  and  the 
third  hour  in  the  style  of  St  Mark  denote  one  and  the 
same  season  of  the  day  ;  because  the  one  computes 
the  hours  elapsed  from  sun-rising,  and  the  other  that 
third  interval  of  three  hours  which  commenced  pre- 
cisely at  the  ninth  hour. 

2.  Our  second  rernark  will  lead  us  into  an  exami- 
nation of  certain  questions  started,  relative  to  the 
prodigies  recorded  by  our  evangelist.     It  is  said, 

(1.)  That  there  was  darkness  over  all  the  land.  It 
appears  from  astronomical  calculation,  and  from  the 
very, nature  of  solar  eclipses,  which  are  occasioned 
by  the  interposition  of  the  body  of  the  moon  be- 
tween us  and  the  orb  of  day,  which  can  take  place 
only  at  the  change,  whereas  it  was  then  at  the  full, 
being  the  fourteenth  day  of  the  month  of  March  ;  it 
appears,  I  say,  from  these  considerations,  that  this 
darkness  was  not  an  eclipse  properly  so  called,  but  an 
obscuration  effected  by  a  special  interference  of  Pro- 
vidence, which  we  are  unable   clearly  to  explain. 

If  we  are  incapable  of  assigning  the  cause,'  w^e  are 
equally  incapable  of  determining  the  extent  of  this^ 
wonderful  appearance.  The  expression  in  the  ori- 
ginal, '*  there  was  darkness  over  all  the  land,"  or,  ac- 
cording to  St  Luke's  phraseology,  over  all  the  earth, 

VOL.  VI.  H  cb. 


98  The  Cf'iwifixion. 

ch.  xxiii.  44.  which  presents  at  first  to  the  mind  an 
idea  of  the  whole  globe,  is  frequently  restricted  in 
scripture,  sometimes  to  the  land  of  Judea,  some- 
times to  the  whole  Roman  empire  ;  and  this  ambi- 
guity, joined  to  the  silence  of  the  sacred  historians, 
renders  it  impossible  for  us  to  decide  whether  the 
darkness  overspread  the  land  of  Judea  only,  or  in- 
volved all  the  rest  of  our  hemisphere. 

Neither  do  we  deem  it  of  importance  to  dwell  on 
an  examination  of  the  monuments  supposed  to  be 
found  in  antiquity  respecting  the  truth  of  the  pro- 
digy of  which  we  have  been  speaking.  Among 
those  which  are  transmitted  to  us  on  this  subject, 
there  is  one  which  bears  visible  marks  of  forgery.  I 
speak  of  the  testimony  of  Dionysius,  falsely  deno- 
minated the  Areopagite,  who  affirms  that  he  himself 
saw,  in  Egypt,  the  darkness  mentioned  by  the  evan- 
gelists, which  drew  from  him  this  exclamation :  "  As- 
suredly either  the  God  of  Nature  is  suffering,  or  the 
frame  of  the  universe  is  going  to  be  destroyed  *."  The 
learned  have  so  clearly  demonstrated  that. the  author 
of  this  book  is  an  impostor,  who,  though  he  did 
not  live  till  the  fourtji  century,  would  nevertheless 
pass  for  the  Dionysius  who  was  converted  to  Christia- 
nity by  the  preaching  of  St  Paul  on  Mars-hill, 
Acts  xvii.  34.  that  this  author,  transfixed  with  a 
thousand  wounds,  is  fallen,  never  to  rise  again. 

Much  more  dependence  is,  undoubtedly,  to  be 
placed  on  what  is  said  by  Phlegon,  surnamed  the 
Trallian,  the  emperor  Adrian's  freedman.  He  had 
composed  a  history  of  the  Olympiads,  some  frag- 
ments only  of  which  have  reached  us  :  but  Eusebius 
the  historian  has  preserved  the  following  passage  from 

it*: 

*  Dionys."  Areopag.  torn.  II.  page  91.  and  Annot.  Corder.  page 
33,  and  102.     Edit.  Antwerp,  1634. 


The  Crucifixion.  99 

it  *  :  "  In  the  fourth  year  of  the  two  hundred  and  se 
cond  Olympiad,  there  was  an  ecUpse  of  the  sun,  much 
greater  than  any  one  which  had  ever  before  been  ob- 
served. The  night  was  so  dark  at  noon-day  that  the 
stars  were  perceptible,  and  there  were  such  violent 
earthquakes  in  Bithynia,  that  the  greatest  part  of 
the  city  of  Nicea  was  swallowed  up  by  it."  These 
are  the  words  of  Eusebius  :  but  the  inquiries  to  which 
they  might  lead  could  not  be  prosecuted  in  an  exer- 
cise like  the  present,  and  they  would  encroach  on  that 
time  which  we  destine  to  subjects  of  much  higher 
importance. 

(2.)  The  evangelist  tells  us  in  the  second  place^ 
that  the  vail  of  the  temple  was  rent  in  twain^  from  the 
top  to  the  bottom.  There  were  two  vails  in  the  tem-> 
pie  at  Jerusalem  ;  that  which  was  suspended  over  the 
door  that  separated  the  holy  place  from  the  exterior 
of  the  temple,  which  Josephus  calls  a  Babylonian 
hangings  embroidered  curiously  with  gold,  purple, 
scarlet  and  fine  flax  f .  There  was  also  a  vail  oyer 
the  door  which  separated  the  holy  place  from  the 
Holy  of  Holies.  The  expression  in  the  text  the 
vail,  described  in  Exodus  xxvi.  31.  and  denoted  the 
vail  by  way  of  excellence,  makes  it  presumable  that 
the  second  is  here  meant. 

(3.)  The  evangelist  relates  that  the  graves  were  open- 
ed ;  aiidmany  bodies  of  saints  which  slept  arose,  and 
went  into  the  holy  city,  and  appeared  unto  many.  This 
has  induced  interpreters  to  institute  an  inquiry.  Who 
those  dead  persons  were  ?  It  is  pretended  by  some 
that  they  were  the  ancient  prophets  ;  others,  with  a 
greater  air  of  probability,  maintain  that  they  were 
persons  lately   deceased,  and   well-known    to   those 

■^i  to 

*  Euseb.  Pamph.  Thesaurus  Temporum,  page  l58.  Edit. 
Amst.  1658. 

f  Exod.  xxvi.  36.     Joseph,  -wars  of  the  Jews,  Book  vl.   ©li.   14^ 


100  TJie  Crucifixion. 

to  whom  they  appeared.  But  how  is  it  possible  to 
form  a  fixed  opinion,  when  we  are  left  so  entirely  iij 
the  dark  ? 

(4.)  Our  last  remark  relates  to  the  interpretation 
affirmed  to  the  Syriac  words  which  Jesus  Christ  pro- 
nounced ;  £//,  Eli,  lama  sabachtham.,  and  which  St 
Mark  gives  in  the  Chaldaic  form.  The  evangelist 
tells  us,  that  some  of  those  who  heard  Jesus  Christ 
thus  express  himself,  said  that  he  called  for  Elias. 
The  persons  who  entertained  this  idea,  could  not  be 
the  Roman  soldiers,  who  assisted  at  the  execution. 
By  what  means  should  they  have  known  any  thing 
of  Elias  ?  They  were  not  the  Jews  who  inhabited 
Jerusalem  and  Judea  ;  How  could  they  have  been 
acquainted  with  their  native  language  ?  They  must 
have  been,  on  the  one  hand,  Jews  instructed  in  the 
traditions  of  their  nation,  and  who,  on  the  other, 
did  not  understand  the  language  spoken  at  Jerusa- 
lem. Now  this  description  applies  exactly  to  those 
of  the  Jews  who  were  denominated  Hellenists,  that  is 
to  say,  Greeks  :  they  were  of  Jewish  extraction  and 
had  scattered  themselves  over  the  different  regions  of 
Greece. 

But  whence,  it  will  be  said,  did  they  derive  the 
strange  idea,  that  Jesus  Christ  called  for  Elias  }  I 
answer,  that  it  was  not  only  from  the  resemblance  in 
sound  between  the  words  Eli  and  Elias,  but  from 
another  tradition  of  the  Jews.  It  was  founded  on 
those  words  of  the  prophet  Malachi :  "  behold,  I  will 

send  you  Elijah  the  prophet and  he  shall  turn  the 

heart  of  the  fathers  to  the  children,  and  the  heart  of 
the  children  to  their  fathers,  ch.  iv.  6.  an  oracle  which 
presents  no  difficulty  to  the  Christian,  whom  Jesus 
Christ  has  instructed  to  consider  it  as  accomplished 
m  the  person  of  John  Baptist.  But  the  Jews  under- 
stood it  in  tlie  literal  sense  :  they  believed  that  Elias 
•^  was 


The  Crucifixion^  101 

was  still  upon  mount  Carmel,  and  was  one  day  to  re- 
appear. The  coming  of  this  prophet  is  still,  next 
to  the  appearance  of  the  Messiah,  the  ohject  of  their 
fondest  hope  *.  It  is  Elias,  as  they  wiii  have  it, 
who  shall  turn  the  heart  of  the  fathers  unto  the  chil- 
dren ;  and  the  heart  of  the  children  unto  their  fathers. 
It  is  Elias,  who  shall  prepare  the  way  of  the  Messiah, 
who  shall  be  his  forerunner,  and  who  shall  anoint 
him  with  the  holy  oil.  It  is  Elias,  who  shall  an- 
swer all  their  enquiries,  and  resolve  all  their  difficul- 
ties. It  is  Elias,  who,  by  his  prayers,  shall  obtain 
the  resurrection  of  the  just.  It  is  Elias,  who  shall 
do  for  the  Jews  of  the  dispersion,  what  Moses  did 
for  the  Israelites  enslaved  in  Egypt :  he  shall  march 
at  their  head,  and  conduct  them  into  Canaan.  These 
are  all  expressions  of  the  Rabbins,  whose  names  I 
suppress,  as  also  the  lists  of  the  works  from  which 
we  extract  the  passages  just  now  quoted.  Here  we 
conclude  our  proposed  commentary  on  the  words, 
and  now  proceed, 

II.  To  direct  your  attention  to  the  great  object 
exhibited  in  the  text,  Jesus  Christ  expiring  on  the 
cross.  We  shall  derive  from  the  words  read,  six 
ideas  of  the  death  of  Jesus  Christ.  1.  The  death  of 
Christ  is  an  expiatory  sacrifice,  in  which  the  victim 
was  charged  with  the  sins  of  a  whole  world.  2.  It 
is  the  body  of  all  the  shadows,  the  truth  of  all  the 
types,  the  accomplishment  of  all  the  predictions  of 
the  ancient  dispensation,  respecting  the  Messiah. 
3.  It  is,  on  the  pait  of  the  Jewish  nation,  a  crime, 
which  the  blackest  colours  are  incapable  of  dep  ct- 
ing,  which  has  kindled  the  wrath  of  heaven,  and 
armed  universal  Nature  against  them.  4.  It  pre- 
sents a  system  of  morality  in  which  every  virtue  is 
retraced,  and  every  motive  that  can  animate  us  to 
the  practice  of  it,  is   displayed.     5.   It  presents  a 

*  Se?  KImchi  and  Ab':n  Ezra  on  Mai.  I  v.  T^ 


102  The  Crucifmorh 

mystery  which  reason  cannot  unfold,  but  whose 
truth  and  importance  all  the  difficulties  which  rea- 
son may  urge  are  unable  to  impair.  6.  Finally,  It 
is  the  triumph  of  the  Redeemer  over  the  tomb. 

1 .  The  death  of  Jesus  Christ  is  an  expiatory  sa- 
crifice, offered  up  to  divine  justice.  Eli,  Eli,  lama 
sabachtJumi :  Mi/  God,  my  God,  rvhy  hast  thou  for- 
saken me  P  This  is  the  only  proof  which  we  shall  at 
present  produce  in  support  of  the  doctrine  of  the 
atonement.  It  is,  undoubtedly,  difficult,  to  deter- 
mine with  precision,  Avhat  were,  at  that  iiioment, 
the  dispositions  of  the  Saviour  of  the  world.  In 
general,  we  must  carefully  separate  from  them  every 
idea  of  distrust,  of  murmuring,  of  despair.  We 
must  carefully  separate  every  thing  injurious  to  the 
immaculate  purity  from  which  Jesus  Christ  never 
deviated,  and  to  that  complete  submission,  which 
lie  constantly  expressed,  to  the  will  of  his  heavenly 
Father.  We  have  here  a  victim,  not  dragged  re- 
luctantly to  the  altar,  but  voluntarily  advancing  to 
it ;  and  the  same  love  which  carried  him  thither, 
supported  him  during  the  whole  sacrifice.  These 
complainings,  therefore,  of  Jesus  Christ,  afford  us 
convincing  reasons  to  conclude,  that  his  der^th  was 
pf  a  nature  altogether  extraordinary. 

Of  this  you  will  become  perfectly  sensible,  if  you 
attend  to  the  two  following  reflections ;  (l.)  That  no 
one  ever  appeared  so  deeply  overwhelmed,  at  the 
thought  of  death,  as  Jesus  Christ :  (2.)  Tliat  no  per- 
son ought  to  have  met  death  with  so  much  constancy 
as  he,  if  he  underwent  a  mere  ordinary  death. 

(l.)  No  one  ever  appeared  so  deeply  overwhelm- 
ed, at  the  thought  of  death,  as  Jesus  Christ.  Re- 
collect in  what  strong  terms  the  sacred  authors  re- 
present the  awful  conflict  which  he  endured  in  the 
garden  of  Gethsemane.     They  tell  us  of  his  mortal 

sorro^'  : 


The  Crucifixion,  *103 

sorrow :  "tny  soul  is  exceeding  sorrowful  even  unto 
death.  Matt.  xxvi.  38.  They  speak  of  his  agony  ; 
hemg  in  an  agony,  says  St  Luke,  xxii.  44.  They 
speak  of  his  fears  :  he  was  heard  in  that  he  feared : 
they  speak  of  his  cries  and  tears :  he  offered  up  prayers 
and  supplications,  with  strong  crying  and  tears,  Heb. 
V.  7.  They  speak  of  the  prodigious  efFcct  which 
the  fear  of  death  produced  upon  his  body  \  "  his  sweat 
was  as  it  were  great  drops  of  blood  faUing  down  to  the 
ground."  They  even  spake  of  the  desire  which  he 
felt  to  draw  back  ;  O  my  Father,  if  it  be  possible,  let 
this  cup  pass  from  me.  Matt.  xxvi.  39.  And  in  our 
text,  they  represent  him  as  reduced  to  the  lowest 
ebb  of  resolution  :  "My  God,  my  God,  why  hast  thou 
forsaken  me  ? "  Is  it  possible  to  be  more  depressed  at 
the  thoughts  of  death  ? 

(2.)  But  we  said,  secondly.  That  no  person  ought 
to  have  met  death  with  so  much  constancy  as  Jesus 
Christ,  if  he  underwent  a  mere  ordinary  death. 
For, 

(i)  Jesus  Christ  died  with  perfect  submission  to 
the  will  of  his  heavenly  Father,  and  with  the  most 
fervent  love  toward  the  human  race.  Now,  when  a 
man  serves  a  master  whom  he  honours,  when  he  suf- 
fers for  the  sake  of  persons  whom  he  loves,  he  suf- 
fers with  patience  and  composure, 

(ii)  Jesus  Christ  died  with  the  most  complete  as- 
surance of  the  justice  of  his  cause,  and  of  the  inno- 
cence of  his  life.  When,  at  the  hour  of  death, 
conscience  is  roused  as  an  armed  man ;  when  the  re-^ 
collection  of  a  thousand  crimes  awakes,  when  a  life 
of  unrepented  guilt  stares  the  dying  sinner  in  the 
face,  the  most  obdurate  heart  is  then  stretched  on 
the  rack.  But  when,  at  a  dying  hour,  the  eye  can 
look  back    to  a  life  of  innocence,  what    consolation 

does 


104  "^he  Crucijixion. 

does  not  the  retrospect  inspire  ?  This  was  the  case 
with  Jesus  Christ.  Who  ever  carried  so  far  charity, 
holy  fervour,  the  practice  of  every  virtue  ?  Who  ever 
was  more  blameless  in  conduct,  more  ardent  in  de- 
votion, more  pure  in  secret  retirement  ? 

(iii)  Jesus  Christ  died,  thoroughly  persuaded  of 
the  immortality  of  the    soul.     When    a   man    has 
passed  his  life  in  atheism,  and  is  dying  in  a  state  of 
uncertainty :  haunted  with  the  apprehension  of  fall- 
ing into  a  state  of  annihilation  ;  reduced  to  exclaim, 
with  Adrian,  O  7ni/  soul,  whither  art  thou  going  P  Na- 
ture shudders  ;  our  attachment  to  existence  inspires 
horror,  at  the  thought  of  existing  no  longer.     But 
when  we  have  a  distinct  knowledge  of  what  man  is  ; 
when  we  are  under  a  complete  conviction  that  he 
consists  of  two  distinct  substances,  of  spiiit,  and  of 
matter  ;    when    we   become  thoroughly  persuaded, 
that  the  destruction  of  the  one  does  not  imply  the 
destruction  of  the  other ;  that  if  the  dust  return  to  the 
earth  as  it  ivas^  the  spirit  shall  return  unto  God  who 
gave  it,  Eccles.  xii.  7.  when  we  know  that  the  soul  is 
the  seat  of  all  perception  ;  that  the  body  is  merely 
a  medium  of  intelligence ;  that  the  soul,  when  dis- 
engaged from  matter,  may  retain  the  same  ideas,  the 
same  sentiments,  as  when  united  to  the  body  ;  that  it 
may  be  capable  of  perceiving  the  sun,  the  st^rs,  the 
firmament,    death   is    no  longer  formidable.     This, 
too,  was  the  case  with  Jesus  Christ.     If  ever  any 
one  enjoyed  a  persuasion  of  the  immortality  of  the 
soul,  and  of  the  resurrection,  it  undoubtedly  was 
this  divine  Saviour.     He  it  was  who  had  derived  all 
the  stores  of  knowledge  from  the  bosom  of  the  Fa- 
ther, and  who  had  brought  life  and  immortality/  to  light, 
2  Tim.  i.  ^0, 

(iv)  Finally,  Jesus  Christ  died  in  the  perfect  as- 
surance 


TJie  Crucifixion,  iOS 

surance  of  that  felicity  which  he  was  going  to  take 
possession  of.  When  the  dying  person  beholds  hell 
opening  under  his  feet,  and  begins  to  feel  the  gnaw- 
ings  of  tfie  worm  which  dieth  not,  and  the  torment  of 
the  fire  that  is  ?iever  to  be  quenched,  Mark  ix.  44.  it  is 
not  astonishing  that  he  should  die  in  terror.  But 
when  we  can  say,  as  he  looks  death  in  the  face, 
"  There  is  the  termination  of  all  my  woes,  and  the 
"  reward  of  all  my  labours  ;  I  am  going  to  restore 
"  my  soul  into  the  hands  of  my  Creator ;  I  behold 
*'  heaven  opened  to  receive  it :"  What  transports 
of  delight  must  not  such  a  prospect  impart  I  Such, 
too,  was  the  case  with  Jesus  Christ.  If  ever  anv 
one  could  have  enjoyed  a  foretaste  of  the  paradise  of 
God  ;  if  ever  any  one  could  conceive  sublime  ideas 
of  that  glory  and  blessedness,  still  it  was  Jesus  Christ. 
He  knew  all  these  things  by  experience  ;  he  knew 
all  the  apartments  of  the  kingdom  of  his  Father : 
from  God  he  had  come,  and  to  God  he  was  returning. 
Nay  there  must  have  been  something  peculiar  in  bis 
triumph,  transcendantly  superior  to  that  of  the  faith- 
ful in  general.  Because  he  humbled  himself,  mid  be^ 
came  obedient  unto  death,  even  the  death  of  the  cross  ; 
God  was  about  highly  to  exalt  him,  and  to  give  him  a 
name  that  is  above  every  name,  Phil.  ii.  8,  9.  A 
cloud  was  going  to  serve  him  as  a  triumphal  car,  and 
the  church  triumphant  was  preparing  to  receive  their 
King  in  these  rapturous  strains :  Lift  up  your  heads, 
O  ye  gates,  and  be  ye  lift  up,  ye  everlasting  doors,  and 
the  King  of  glory  shall  come  in,  Psal.  xxiv.  7. 

What,  then,  shall  Jesus  Christ  do  ?  Shall  he  meet 
death  with  joy?  Shall  he  say  with  St  Paul,  I  have 
a  desire  to  depart?  Shall  he  exclaim  with  the  female 
celebrated  in  ecclesiastical  history  ;  This  is  the  daii 
that  crowns  are  distributed,  and  I  go  to  receive  my 
shared  No,  Jesus  Christ  trembles,  he  grows  pale,  his 

i>v»'e£j.t 


106  The  Cnicijhion, 

sweat  becomes  as  great  drops  of  bloody  Luke  xxii. 
44.  he  cries  out,  Mi/  God,  my  God,  why  hast  thou  for- 
saken me  P 

Add ,  to  these  reflections,  the  promises  of  divine 
assistance,  which  all  the  faithfut  have  a  right  to 
claim,  in  the  midst  of  tribulation,  and  which  Jesus 
Christ  musj;  have  had  a  far  superior  right  to  plead, 
had  he  died  a  mere  ordinary  death  ;  but  of  the  con- 
solation flowing  from  these  he  seems  entirely  de- 
prived. 

Add,  in  a  particular  manner,  the  example  of  the 
martyrs.  They  met  death  with  unshaken  fortitude: 
they  braved  the  most  cruel  torments  :  their  firmness 
struck  their  very  executioners  with  astonishment. 
In  Jesus  Christ  we  behold  nothing  similar  to  this. 

Nay,  I  will  go  farther,  and  say.  That  even  the  pe- 
nitent thief  discovers  more  firmness,  in  his  dying 
moments,  than  the  Saviour  himself.  He  addresses 
hijnself  to  Jesus  Christ,  he  implores  his  mercy, 
and,  set  at  rest  by  the  promises  given  to  him,  he  ex- 
pires in  tranquillity  :  Jesus  Christ,  on  the  contrary, 
seems  equally  to  despair  of  relief  from  heaven  and 
from  the  earth. 

The  oppose  I's  of  the  satisfaction  of  Jesus  Christ 
will  find  it  absolutely  impossible  to  resolve  these  dif- 
ficulties :  the  doctrine  of  the  satisfaction  is  the  only 
key  that  can  unlock  this  mystery.  Inmimerable  evils 
have  compassed  me  about,  is  the  prophetic  language  of 
the  Psalmist,  mine  iniquities  have  taken  hold  upon  me, 
so  that  I  am  not  able  to  look  up:  they  are  more  than  the 
hairy  of  mine  head,  therefore  my  heart  faileth  me,  Ps. 
xl.  12 .  He  was  wounded  for  our  transgressions,  he  was 
bruised  for  our  iniquities:  the  chastisement  of  our  peace 
was  upon  him:  as  Isaiah  expresses  himself,  ch.  liii.  5. 

God 


The  Crucifixion,  lOT 

God  spared  not  his  own  Son,  Rom.  viii.  32.  Jw  hath 
made  him  to  he  sin  for  us,  2  Cor.  v.  21.  being  made  a 
curse  for  us.  Gal.  iii.  13.  to  use  the  language  of  St 
Paul :  this  is  what  we  undertook  to  prove  ;  and  this 
is  the  first  idea  under  which  we  proposed  to  repre- 
sent the  dying  Saviour  of  the  world. 


SEIMON 


SERMON  IV. 

PART  II. 

The  Crucifixion. 


Matth.  xxvii.  45 — 53. 

Now  from  the  sixth  hour  there  teas  darkness  over  all 
the  land  unto  the  ninth  hour.  And  about  the  ninth 
hour  Jesus  cried  with  a  loud  voice,  saying,  Eli,  Eli, 
lama  sabachthaniP  that  is  to  say^  My  God,  my  God, 
why  hast  thou  forsaken  me  ?  Some  of  them  that 
stood  there,  when  they  heard  that,  said.  This  man 
calleth  for  Elias.  And  straightway  one  of  them  ran, 
and  took  a  spunge,  and  filled  it  ivith  vi?iegar,  and 
put  it  on  a  reed,  and  gave  him  to  drink.  The  7^est 
said.  Let  be,  let  us  see  whether  Elias  will  co?ne  to 
save  him.  Jesus,  when  he  had  cried  again  with  a 
loud  voice,  yielded  up  the  ghost.  And,  behold,  the 
vail  of  the  temple  was  rent  in  twain  from  the  top  to 
the  bottom :  and  the  earth  did  quake,  and  the  rocks 
rent;  and  the  graves  were  opened;  and  many  bodies 
of  saints  ivhtch  slept  arose,  and  came  out  of  the  graves 
after  his  resurrection,  and  luent  into  the  holy  city^ 
and  appeared  unto  many, 

HAVING  represented  the  death  of  Christ  under 
the  idea,  1.  Of  an  expiatory  sacrifice,  in  which 
the  victim  was  charged  with  the  sins  of  the  whole 
world :  we  proceed, 

2.  To 


116  The  Cf-ucifixiO/L 

2.  To  consider  it,  as  the  body  of  all  the  shadows, 
the  truth  of  all  the  types,  the  accomplishment  of  all 
the  predictions  of  the  ancient  dispensation,  respect- 
ing the  Messiah.  In  fact,  On  what  state  or  period  of 
the  Old  Testament  church  can  we  throw  our  eyes, 
without  discovering  images  of  a  dying  Jesus,  and 
traces  of  the  sacrifice  which  he  offered  up  ? 

If  we  resort  to  the  origin  of  all  our  woes,  there 
tilso  w^e  find  the  remedy.  You  will  discover  that 
Adam  had  no  sooner  by  transgression  fallen,  than 
God  promised  him  a  seed,  w4iose  /we I  the  seed  of  the 
serpent  should  bruise,  but  who,  in  that  very  act  of 
suffering,  should  bruise  the  serpent's  head,  Gen.  iii.  15. 
You  will  find  this  same  promise  repeated  to  Abra- 
ham ;  that  seed  announced  a-new^  to  the  patriarchs, 
and,  taking  St  Paul  for  your  instructor,  you  wall 
discover  that  this  seed  is  Jesus  Christ,  Gal.  iii.  i6. 

If  you  contem.plate  the  temporal  wonders  which 
God  was  pleased  to  work  in  favour  of  the  Jewish 
nation,  you  will  discover  every  where  in  them  an 
tidumbration  of  the  spiritual  blessings  which  the 
death  of  Jesus  Christ  was  to  procure  for  the  church. 
You  will  there  see  the  blood  of  a  lamb  on  the  doors 
of  the  Israelites.  It  w^as  the  shadow  of  that  Lamb 
without  ble7nish  and  without  spot,  fore-ordained  before 
the  foundation  of  the  world,  1  Pet.  i.  Ip,  20.  You 
wdll  there  behold  a  rock,  which,  when  smitten, 
^emitted  a  stream  sufficient  to  quench  the  thirst  of  a. 
great  people.  This  was  a  shadow^  of  Jesus  Christ. 
St  Paul  tells  us  that  it  was  Christ  himself,  who  re- 
freshes us  with  living  water,  springing  upinto  everlast- 
ing life,  1  Cor.  x.  4.  and  John  iv.  14.  You  will  there 
behold  a  serpent  lifted  up,  the  sight  of  w^hich  healed 
the  deadly  wounds  of  the  Israelites.  It  was  a  sha- 
dow of  him  who  was  to  be  lifted  up  on  the  cross. 

If 


The  Orucifixmi,  111 

If  you  look  into  the  Levitical  worship,  you  will 
perceive  through  the  whole  of  it,  types  of  this 
death  :  a  perpetual  sacrifice,  the  type  of  him  iuho7ii 
God  hath  set  forth  to  be  a  propitiation  through  faith  in 
his  blood,  Rom.  iii.  25.  You  will  there  behold  vic- 
tims, the  types  of  him  "  who,  through  the  eternal  Spi- 
rit, offered  himself  without  spot  to  God,  to  purge  the 
conscience  from  dead  works,  to  serve  the  living  God," 
Heb.  ix.  14.  a  scape-goat,  bearing  0/2  his  head  all  the 
iniquities  of  the  children  of  Israel^  Lev.  xvi.  21.  The 
type  of  him  who  suffered  for  us  without  the  gate, 
Heb.  xiii.  I3. 

If  you  run  over  the  predictions  of  the  prophets, 
you  will  find  them,  as  with  one  mouth,  announcing 
the  death  of  Jesus  Christ.  Now  it  is  Isaiah  who 
lifts  up  his  voice,  saying,  "  He  is  despised  and  rejected 
of  men,  a  man  of  sorrows  ....  who  made  his  soul  an 
offering  for  sin  ....  who  is  brought  as  a  lamb  to  the 
slaughter,  and  as  a  sheep  before  her  shearers  is  dumb,  so 
he  openeth  not  his  mouth  ....  who  was  oppressed,  and 
was  afflicted  ....  who  was  cut  off  out  of  the  land  of 
the  living,"  ch.  liii.  3,  &c.  Now  it  is  Daniel  who 
holds  up  the  same  object :  Messiah  shall  he  cut  off,  but 
not  for  himself  ch.  ix.  26.  NowZacharias  takes  up 
the  subject,  and  under  the  influence  of  prophetic  in- 
spiration, gives  animation  to  the  sw  ord  of  "  the  Lord 
of  Hosts :  Awake,  O  sword,  against  my  shepherd,  and 
against  the  man  who  is  my  fellow :  smite  the  shepherd, 
and  the  sheep  shall  be  scattered,"  ch.  xiii.  7.  Now  the 
prophetic  David,  minutely  describing  his  sufferings, 
in  such  affecting  terms  as  these  :  "  My  God,  my  God, 
why  hast  thou  forsaken  me?  Why  art  thou  so  far  from 
helping  me,  and  from  the  words  of  my  roaring?  O  my 
God,  I  cry  in  the  day  time  but  thou  hearest  not ;  and 
in  the  night  season,  and  am  not  silent :  ....  I  am  a 
worm  and  no  man  ;  a  reproach  of  men,  and  despised 
of  the  people:  all  they  that  see  me  laugh  me  tq  scorn; 

they 
3 


11:^  The  Crucifixion, 

they  slicot  out  the  lip,  and  shake  the  head,"  Ps.  xxii. 
1,  2,  0,  7»  and,  in  another  place  :  "  Save  me,0  God, 
for  the  waters  are  come  in  unto  my  soul :  I  sink  in 
deep  mire,  where  there  is  no  standing  :  I  am  come 
into  deep  waters,  where  the  floods  overflow  me.  I 
am  weary  of  my  crying,  my  throat  is  dried :  mine 
eyes  fail  while  I  wait  for  my  God  ....  for  thy  sake 
I  have  borne  reproach,  shame  hath  covered  my  face. 
•  .  .  .  Reproach  hath  broken  my  heart,  and  I  am  full 
of  heaviness :  and  I  looked  for  some  to  take  pity,  but 
there  was  none;  and  for  comforters,  but  I  found 
none;  they  gave  me  also  gall  for  my  meat,  and  in  my 
thirst  they  gave  me  vinegar  to  drink,"  Ps.  Ixix.  1, 
%  &c. 

Such  good  reason  have  we  to  consider  the  death  of 
Jesus  Christ  under  this  second  idea :  it  is  in  our  text. 
The  Saviour  appropriates  to  himself  the  prediction 
in  the  twenty-second  psalm  :  My  God,  my  God,  luhy 
hast  thou  forsaken  me  ;  and,  in  order  that  the  scrip- 
ture might  be  fulfilled,  he  gives  occasion  to  his  exe- 
cutioners to  present  him  with  vinegar,  which  pre- 
ceded his  expiring  exclamation,  It  is  finished,  as  it 
is  related  by  another  of  the  evangelists. 

3«  The  death  of  Jesus  Christ  is,  on  the  part  of 
the  Jews,  an  atrocious  crime,  which  has  roused  the 
indignation  of  heaven,  and  armed  universal  nature 
against  them.  But  where  shall  we  find  colours  black 
enough  to  depict  it  ?  Here  the  most  ardent  efforts  of 
the  imagination  must  fall  far  below  the  reality,  and 
the  most  lively  images  come  short  of  truth. 

Supposing  we  possessed  the  faculty  of  collecting, 
into  one  point  of  view,  all  that  was  gentle  in  the  ad- 
dress of  Jesus  Christ,  all  that  was  fervent  in  his 
piety,  humble  in  his  deportment,  pure  in  his  con- 
duct: supposing  us  capable  of  making  an  enumera- 
tion 
1 


The  Crucifixion,  II3 

tion  of  all  the  benefits  which-  he  accumulated  on  the 
heads  of  those  monsters  of  ingratitude ;  the  gracious 
exhortations  which  he  addressed  to  them  ;  the  mira- 
cles of  goodness  which  he  performed  among  them, 
in  healing  the  sick,  and  raismg  the  dead  :  supposing 
we  could  display  to  you  those  malignant  calumnies 
with  which  the^f  loaded  him,  those  abominable  and 
repeated  falsehoods,  those  cruel  and  remorseless  im- 
portunites  for  permission  to  put  him  to  death, 
worthy  of  the  severest  execration  had  they  been  em- 
ployed even  against  the  most  detestable  of  mankind : 
could  we  represent  to  you  all  that  was  barbarous  and 
inhuman  in  the  punishment  of  the  cross ;  by  telling 
you  that  it  was  a  huge  stake  crossed  by  another  piece 
of  wood,  to  which  they  bound  the  body  of  the  per- 
son condemned  to  terminate  his  life  upon  it ;  that 
the  two  arms  were  stretched  out.  upon  that  cross 
beam,  and  nailed,  as  well  as  "Both  the  feet,  to  the 
tree,  so  that  the  body  of  the  sufferer,  sinking  with 
its  own  weight,  and  suspended  by  its  nerves,  was 
speedily  reduced  to  one  vast  wound,  till  the  violence 
and  slowness  of  the  torment  at  length  delivered  him, 
and  the  blood  drained  oft  drop  by  drop,  thus  ex- 
hausted the  stream  of  life  :  supposing  us  to  have  de- 
tailed all  the  ignominous  circumstances  which  ac- 
companied the  death  of  Christ;  that  crown  of 
thorns,  that  purple  robe,  that  ridiculous  sceptre, 
that  wagging  of  the  head,  those  insulting  defiances 
to  save  himself,  as  he  had  saved  others — supposing, 
I  say,  all  this  could  be  collected  into  one  point  of 
view,  we  should  still  believe  that  we  had  conveyed 
to  you  ideas  much  too  feeble,  of  the  criminality  of 
the  Jews. 

Nature  convulsed,  and  the  elements  confounded, 
>shall  supply  our  defects,  and  serve,  this  day,  as  so 
many  preachers.  The  prodigies  which  signalized 
the  death  of  Jesus  Christ  shall  persuade  more  pow- 
erfully than  all  the  figures  of  rhetoric.     That  dai'k- 

voL.  VI.  I  ness 


114  The  Crucijixmu 

ness  which  covers  the  earth,  that  vail  of  the  teiilplc 
rent  in  twain,  that  trembUng  which  has  seized  the 
solid  globe,  those  rocks  cleft  asunder,  those  yawn- 
ing graves,  those  reviving  dead,  they,  they  are  the 
pathetic  orators  who  reproach  the  Jews  with  the 
atrocity  of  their  guilt,  and  who  denounce  their  im- 
pending destruction.  The  sun  shrowds  himself  in 
the  shades  of  night,  as  unable  to  behold  this  ac- 
cursed parricide,  and  what  courtly  poets  said  in  adu- 
lation, namely  that  the  orb  of  day  clothed  himself 
in  mourning,  when  Julius  Cesar  was  assassinated  in 
the  senate-house,  was  here  realized  under  special  di- 
rection of  divine  Providence.  The  vail  of  the  tem- 
ple is  rent  asunder,  as  on  a  day  of  lamentation  and 
wo.  The  earth  trembles,  as  refusing  to  support  the 
wretches,  whose  sacrilegious  hands  were  attacking 
the  life  of  him  who  fastened  the  foundations  thereof^ 
Job  xxxviii.  6.  and  founded  it  upon  its  bases,  Ps. 
civ.  5.  The  rocks  cleave,  as  if  to  reprove  the  Jews 
for  the  hardness  of  their  hearts.  The  dead  start 
from  their  tombs,  as  coming  to  condemn  the  rage  of 
the  living. 

4.  The  death  of  Jesus  Christ  is  a  system  of  mora- 
lity, in  which  every  virtue  is  clearly  traced.  If  the 
divine  justice  be  an  object  of  fear,  where  is  it  more 
powerfully  inculcated  than  on  the  cross  of  Jesus 
Christ  ?  How  very  terrible  does  that  justice  there 
appear  I  It  goes  in  pursuit  of  its  victim  into  the 
very  heaven  of  heavens.  It  extends  on  the  altar  a 
Divine  Man.  It  spares  not  the  Son  of  God,  his 
ow^n  Son.  And  thou,  miserable  sinner,  who  canst 
present  nothing  to  the  eyes  of  thy  Judge  but  what 
is  odious  and  abominable,  how  shalt  thou  be  able  to 
escape  his  vengeance,  if  violating  the  laws  of  the 
gospel  thou  renderest  thyself  so  much  the  more 
worthy  of  condemnation,  that  ihou  hadst,  in  that 
very  gospel,  th^efiectual  means  of  deliverance  ? 
'     ■         '  If 


The  Crucifix  ion,  1J5 

If  vice  is  to  be  held  in  detestation,  Where  is  this 
lesson  so  forcibly  taught  as  from  the  cross  of  Jesus 
Christ  ?  Let  the  man  who  makes  light  of  sin,  who 
forms  to  himself  agreeable  images  ^  and  feeds  on  flat- 
tering ideas  of  it,  learn,  at  the  cross  of  Christ,  to 
contemplate  it  in  its  true  light:  let  him  form  a 
judgment  of  the  cause  from  the  effects  y  and  let  him 
never  think  of  sin,  without  thinking,  at  the  same 
time,  on  the  pangs  which  it  cost  the  Saviour  of  the 
world. 

If  w^e  wish  for  models  to  copy,  Where  shall  we 
find  models  so  venerable  as  on  the  cross  of  Christ  ? 
Let  the  proud  man  go  to  the  cross  of  Christ ;  let  him 
there  behold  the  Word  m  a  state  of  humiliation  ; 
let  him  there  contemplate  the  person  who  made  him- 
self of  no  reputation,  and  took  upon  him  the  form  of  a 
servant,  and  condescended  to  submit  to  the  punish- 
ment of  a  slave  :  the  person  who  being  in  the  form  of 
God,  thought  it  not  robbery  to  be  equal  with  God;  let 
the  proud  man  look  to  him,  and  learn  to  be  humble. 
Let  the  voluptuous  repair  to  the  cross  of  Christ ;  let 
him  there  behold  the  flesh  crucified,  the  senses  sub- 
dued, pleasure  mortified,  and  Jearn  to  bring  fortli 
fruits  meet  for  repentance.  Let  the  implacable  re- 
pair to  the  cross  of  Christ  ;  let  him  there  con- 
template Jesus  Christ  dying  for  his  enemies,  pray- 
ing even  for  his  murderers,  and  learn  to  put  on 
bowels  of  mercies.  Let  the  murmurer  go  to  the 
cross  of  Christ ;  let  him  go  and  study  that  complete 
submission  which  this  divine  Saviour  yielded  to  the 
most  rigid  commands  of  his  Father,  and  learn  to  re- 
sign himself  in  all  things  to  the  will  of  God. 

If  we  are  bound  to  love  our  lawgiver.  Where  can 
we  learn  this  lesson  better  than  at  the  cross  of  Christ? 
From  that  cross  we  hear  him  crying  aloud  to  the 
gailty  and  the  wretched  :  "  Behold,  O  sinners,  be- 
*'  hold  the  tokens  of  my  aflection  :  behold  my 
*'  hands  and  mv  iect :  behold  this  pierced  dde  :  bc-- 

-  hold 


Il5  The  Crucifixion, 

"  hold  all  these  wounds  with  which  my  body  is 
"  toril :  behold  all  those  stripes  of  the  justice  of  my 
*'  Father,  which  I  endure  for  your  salvation."  At 
a  spectacle  so  moving,  is  there  an  obduracy  so  in- 
vincible as  not  to  bend  ?  Is  there  a  heart  so  hard  as 
to  refuse  to  melt?  Is  there  a  love  so  ardent  as  not  to 
kindle  into  a  brighter  flame  ? 

5.  The  death  of  Jesus  Christ  is  a  mystery  inacces- 
sible to  reason,  but  which  all  the  difficulties  that 
reason  can  muster,  are  unable  to  impair. 

It  is  a  mystery  inaccessible  to  reason  :  let  it  ex- 
plain to  me  that  wonderful  union  of  greatness  and 
depression,  of  ignominy  and  glory,  of  an  immortal 
God  with  a  dying  man. 

Let  reason  explain  to  me,  how  it  comes  to  pass, 
that  though  God  is  unsusceptible  of  suffering  and 
dying,  the  sufferings  and  death  of  Jesus  Christ 
should,  however,  derive  all  their  efficacy  from  his 
nature  as  God. 

Let  reason  explain  to  me,  how  Jesus  Christ  could 
satisfy  divine  justice,  and  be,  at  the  same  time,  if 
the  expression  be  lawful,  the  Judge  and  the  party 
condemned,  the  Avenger  and  the  party  avenged,  he 
who  satisfied,  and  he  to  whom  satisfaction  was  made. 

Let  reason  explain  to  me,  how  Jesus  nailed  to 
the  cross,  is  nevertheless  worthy  of  the  adoration  of 
men  and  of  angels,  so  that  the  Jew  who  crucifies 
him,  is  at  once  his  executioner  and  his  creature. 

Let  reason  explain  to  me,  above  all,  that  mys- 
tery of  love  which  we  see  displayed  on  the  cross  of 
Jesus  Christ,  and  how  God,  who  is  so  great,  and  so 
highly  exalted,  should  have  vouchsafed  to  perform, 
in  behalf  of  man,  a  being  so  low  and  contemptible, 
wonders  so  astonishing.  Eend,  bend,  proud  Rea- 
son, under  the  weight  of  these  difficulties,  and  from 
the  extent  of  these  mysteries,  learn  the  narrowness 
of  thv  own  empire, 

n 


The  Crucifijcion.  1  Jt  7 

It  is  the  wisdo77i  of  God  in  a  mystery^  which  none  of 
the  princes  of  this  world  knew,  1  Cor.  ii.  7,  8.  It  is 
the  gf^eat  mystery  of  godliness,  1  Tim.  iii.  l6.  These 
are  the  things  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  which  the  natm^al 
man  receiveth  not,  1  Cor.  ii.  I4.  This  is  the  stumbling 
block  of  the  Jew :  this  is  to  the  Greek  foolishness, 
1  Cor.  i.  23.  These  are  the  things  which  eye  hath 
not  seen,  nor  ear  heard,  neither  have  entered  into  the 
heart  of  7nan,  1  Cor.  ii.  9.  This  is  a  mystery 
inaccessible  to  reason,  but  it  is  a  mystery,  whose 
truth  and  importance  all  the  difficulties  which  rea- 
son can  muster,  are  unable  to  impair. 

The  gospel  tells  us  not  that  greatness  and  depres- 
sion, that  ignominy  and  glory,  that  the  mortal,  and 
the  immortal  nature,  were  confounded  in  the  per- 
son  of  Jesus  Christ.  It  simply  informs  us  that  God^ 
in  the  depths  of  his  infinite  wisdom,  knew  how  to 
unite  depression  to  greatness,  glory  to  ignominy,  the 
mortal  to  the  immortal  nature.  This  is  a  mystery 
inaccessible  to  reason,  but  against  which  reason  has 
no  title  to  murmur. 

The  gospel  does  not  tell  us  that  God,  who  is  un- 
susceptible of  either  suffering  or  death,  suffered  and 
died,  but  that  the  subject  susceptible  of  suffering 
united  to  the  impassible,  suffered  ;  that  the  mortal, 
united  to  the  immortal  subject,  died  ;  and  that,  in 
virtue  of  this  union,  his  sufferings  and  death  possess 
an  infinite  value.  This  is  a  mystery  inaccessible  to 
reason,  but  against  which  reason  has  no  title  to  re- 
pine. 

The  gospel  doe's  not  tell  us  that  Je^sus  Christ, 
considered  as  nailed  to  a  cross,  as  suffering,  as  dy- 
ing, is  worthy  of  adoration,  but,  iii  virtue  of  his 
intimate  union  with  Deity,  that  he  is  an  object  of 
adoration  to  men  and  to  angels,  "^rhis  is  a  mystery 
inaccessible  to  reason,  but  against  it  reason  has  not  a 
title  to  reclaim. 

The  gospel  docs  not  tell  us  that  man,  a  being  so 


lis  The  Crucifxion, 

mean,  vile,  grovelling,  could  have  merited  this  prodigy 
of  love  ;  but  that  God  has  derived  it  from  himself,  as 
in  independent  source,  and  that  he  considers  it  as 
essential  to  his  glory,  to  acknowledge  no  other  foun- 
dation of  his  benefits,  but  the  misery  of  those  to 
whom  he  is  pleased  to  communicate  them.  This  is  a 
mystery  inaccessible  to  reason,  but  against  W'hich 
reason  has  not  a  title  to  reclaim. 

6.  There  remains  only  one  idea  more,  under  which 
we  wish  to  represent  the  death  of  the  Saviom'  of  the 
world.  It  is  the  triumph  of  Jesus  Christ  over  death, 
and  the  consolation  of  the  dying  believer.  Death 
may  be  considered  in  three  points  of  view,  (l.)  It 
throws  us  into  the  darkness  of  gloomy  night.  (2.) 
It  summons  us  to  appear  before  a  tremendous  tribu- 
nal. (3.)  It  strips  us  of  our  dearest  possessions.  Jesus 
Christ  expires  on  the  cross,  triumphs  over  death,  in 
these  three  several  respects. 

But  it  w^ould  be  necessary  to  possess  the  art  of  re- 
newing your  attention,  in  order  successfully  to  under- 
take the  task  of  pressing  these  ideas  upon  your  minds, 
for  they  are  more  than  sufficient  to  furnish  matter 
for  a  complete  new  discourse. 

I  must  confine  myself,  at  present,  to  one  conside- 
ration, founded  on  the  rending  of  the  vail  of  the 
temple,  mentioned  in  the  text.  We  have  already 
pointed  it  out  as  a  token  of  the  vengeance  of  heaven 
against  the  Jewish  nation.  It  may  likewise  be  con- 
sidered in  another  point  of  view,  conformably  to  the 
decision  of  St  Paul,  and  to  the  ideas  of  the  Jew'S. 
That  people  looked  on  their  temple  as  a  figure  of  the 
universe.  We  have,  on  this  subject,  passages  ex- 
pressly to  the  purpose,  in  Philo  and  Josephus.  All 
that  was  on  the  outside  of  the  most  holy  place,  repre- 
sented, to  them,  nature  and  the  elements.  The  scar- 
let colour  of  the  sanctuary  represented  fire.  The 
hyacinthine  represented  the  air.     The  seven  branches 

of 


The  Crucifixion,  llg 

of  the  candlestick  represented  the  seven  planets. 
The  twelve  cakes  of  shew-bread  rc^presented  the 
signs  of  the  Zodiac,  and  the  twelve  months  of  the 
year.  But  they  said,  that  the  most  holy  place  had 
been  set  apart  for  God  :  that  the  Propitiatory  was  his 
throne,  that  the  cherubim s  were  his  chariot  *. 

On  this  principle,  the  vail,  which  seperated  the 
holy  place  from  the  Holy  of  Holies,  was  an  image 
of  the  obstacles  which  interposed  between  the  crea- 
ture  and  the  heavenly  habitation,  in  which  God  re- 
sides. This  vail  is  rent  asunder  at  the  death  of  Je- 
sus Christ ;  these  obstacles  are  removed  ;  access  into 
the  abode  of  the  blessed  is  opened  to  us :  and  this  is 
the  spirit  of  the  ceremonial  observance  prescribed  in 
the  Levitical  worship  :  Into  the  second  went  the  High 
Priest  alone,  once  every  year,  not  without  blood,  saith 
St  Paul,  in  his  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  ;  ''  The  Holy 
Ghost  this  signifying,  that  the  way  into  the  holiest 
of  all  was  not  yet  made  manifest,  while  as  the  first 
tabernacle  was  yet  standing :  but  Christ  being  come, 
an  High  Priest  of  good  things  to  come,  by  a  greater 
and  more  perfect  tabernacle,  by  his  own  blood,  en- 
tered into  the  holy  place,  having  obtained  eternal  re- 
demption for  us,"     Pleb.  ix.  7,  &c. 

Death,  then,  has  nothing,  henceforward,  formida- 
ble to  the  Christian.  In  the  tomb  of  Jesus  Christ 
are  dissipated  all  the  terrors  which  the  tomb  of  na- 
ture presents.  In  the  tomb  of  nature,  O  sinner, 
thou  beholdest  thy  frailty,  thy  subjection  to  the  bon- 
dage of  corruption  :  in  the  tomb  of  Jesus  Christ  thou 
beholdest  thy  strength  and  thy  deliverance.  In  the 
trnwh  of  nature  the  punishment  of  sin  stares  thee  in 
the  face  :  in  the  tomb  of  Jesus  Christ  thou  iindest 
the  expiation  of  it.  From  the  tomb  of  nature  thou 
hearest  the  dreadful  sentence  pronounced  against  ail 
the  posterity  of  Adam  :  Dust  thou  art,  and  unto  dust 
shalt  thou  return ,  Gen.  iii.  19.  but  from  the  tomb  of 

Jesus 

*  Cons>ik  Joseph.  Aiitlq.  L''^.  HI.  cap.  5.  &  Phil,  de  VitSi; Mo- 
ws Lib.  III.  page  667,  &«-. 


]  20  The  Crucifixion, 

Jesus  Christ  issue  those  accents  of  cousolation :  "  I  am 
the  resurrection,  and  the  life  ;  he  thatbelieveth  in  me, 
though  he  were  dead,  yet  shall  he  live,"  John  xi.  25. 
In  the  tomb  of  nature  thou  readest  this  universal,  this 
irrevocable  doom  v^^ritten  :  ''It  is  appointed  unto  men 
t)nce  to  die,"  Heb.  ix.  27.  but  in  the  tomb  of  Jesus 
Christ,  thy  tongue  is  loosed  into  this  triumphant 
song  of  praise :  "  O  death,  where  is  thy  sting  ?  O  grave, 
where  is  thy  victory  ?  .  .  .  .  Thanks  be  to  God  who 
giveth  us  the  victory,  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. " 
1  Cor.  XV.  55,  57.  , 

All  that  now  remains  is  to  conclude  with  a  few 
reflections  by  way  of  recapitulation.  My  brethren, 
for  some  weeks  past,  there  have  been  traced  before 
your  eyes,  the  sucessive  particulars  of  the  passion 
and  death  of  the  Saviour  of  the  world.  You  have 
seen  him  betrayed,  apprehended,  arraigned,  con- 
demned, and  expiring  under  the  most  shameful,  and 
the  most  cruel  of  all  punishments. 

Do  you  comprehend  all  that  is  sublime  in  these, 
truths  ?  Do  you  feel,  in  all  its  extent,  the  value  of 
these  benefits  ?  Have  you,  at  least,  made  the  attempt 
to  take  the  dimensions  of  the  love  of  God,  and  "  to 
comprehend  with  all  saints,  what  is  the  breadth,  and 
length,  and  depth,  and  height :  and  to  know  the  love 
of  Christ,  which  passeth  knowledge,  that  you  may 
be  filled  with  all  the  fulness  of  God?"  Eph.  iii.  18,  Ip. 

Ah  I  let  us  beware,  my  beloved  brethren,  that  we 
deceive  not  ourselves  as  to  this  ;  after  so  many  dis- 
tinguished tokens  of  the  grace  of  God,  we  are  going 
to  become  the  most  wretched,  or  the  happiest,  of  all 
creatures.  Our  condition  admits  not  of  mediocrity. 
The  two  interesting  extremes  present  themselves  to 
view, — the  extreme  of  justice,  and  the  extreme  of 
mercy.  We  are  going  to  prove  all  that  is  mild  and 
gentle  in  the  peace  of  God,  or  all  that  is  tremendous 
jn  his  indignation  ;  and  that  blood  which  we  have  seen 
poured  out,  must  he  upon  our  heads  either  to  attract, 
•r  to  repel,  the  thunder. 

^  His 


The  Crucifixion.  12  i 

His  blood  he  on  us,  and  on  our  childre?!.  Matt,  xxvii. 
25.  This  was  the  imprecation  of  those  barbarous 
Jews,  who  with  importunity  demanded  the  death  of 
Jesus  Christ,  and  glutted  themselves  with  his  suffer- 
ings. But  it  was,  in  a  far  different  sense,  the  inte- 
rior voice  of  those  beUeving  souls,  who  entered  into 
the  design  of  God,  who  by  faith,  sprinkled  them- 
selves with  this  blood,  which  w^as  to  form  the  bond 
of  union  between  heaven  and  earth. 

His  blood  be  on  us,  and  on  our  children.  This  is  the 
voice  which  now  resounds  from  ear  to  ear,  and 
which  must  be  accomplished  on  this  assembly,  in  one 
sense  or  another.  Yes,  this  blood  shall  be  upon  you, 
in  vengeance  and  malediction,  as  it  was  upon  un- 
gratefid  Jerusalem,  in  your  families  to  trouble  their 
peace,  in  your  plans  to  defeat  them,  in  your  esta- 
blishments to  sap  them  to  the  foundation,  in  your 
consciences  to  harrow  them  up,  in  your  death-bed 
to  darken  it  with  horror  and  despair,  and  through  all 
the  periods  of  eternity,  demanding  the  expiation  of 
the  crime,  of  having  trampled  under  foot  the  blood 
of  the  Son  of  God,  and  of  having  crucified  afresh 
the  Lord  of  glory.  Or  it  will  be  upon  you,  yes  this 
blood  will  be  upon  you,  to  strengthen  you  under  all 
your  infirmities,  to  preserve  you  in  the  hour  of  temp- 
tation, to  console  you  under  the  pressure  of  calamity 
to  speak  peace  to  the  troubled  conscience,  to  support 
you  in  dying  agony,  to  render  your  death  blessed,  and 
eternity  triumphant. 

I  dwell  for  a  moment  on  these  last  ideas,  and 
under  an  illusion  of  charity,  I  apply  them  to  all  those 
who  compose  my  audience.  Happy  they,  to  whom 
they  are  applicable  of  a  truth  I  To  have  been  atten- 
tive to  the  history  of  the  sufferings  and  death  of  the 
Saviour  of  the  world,  which,  for  some  time  past,  has 
been  the  great  subject  of  our  address,  to  have  traced 
it  through  all  its  sncccssive  circumstances,  to  have 

felt 


122  The  Crucifixion. 

felt  the  necessity,  and  to  have  penetrated  into  the  de- 
sign of  the  whole  ;  to  have  applied  to  ourselves  the 
lessons  whicn  it  inculcates,  the  consolations  which  it 
supplies,  the  hope  which  it  inspires  :  to  deduce, 
from  these  grand  objects,  consequences  aftecting  the 
conduct  of  life,  tending  to  promote  sanctity  of  mari- 
ners, superiority  to  the  world,  love  to  God  so  rich 
in  mercy,  desire  of  possessing  that  in  perfection,  of 
which  displays  so  astonishing,  convey  ideas  so  sub- 
lime- 
After  that,  to  come  next  Lord's  day  to  the  table  of 
Jesus  Christ,  with  the  understanding  convinced,  the 
heart  overflowing,  the  soul  penetrated  :  to  discern, 
in  the  bread  and  the  wine  of  which  we  are  to  par- 
take, the  symbols  of  that  death,  whose  memorial 
the  church  is  celebrating:  to  promise  unto  God,  over 
those  august  pledges  of  his  love,  to  render  to  him 
love  for  love,  and  life  for  life :  to  expand  the  heart 
in  such  emotions;  to  communicate  in  such  a  dispo- 
sition, and  to  wait  for  death  under  such  impressions 
— these  are  the  loftiest  objects  v/liich  man  can  pro- 
pose to  his  meditation.  This  is  the  highest  point  of 
perfection  which  v/e  are  capable  of  attaining,  in  the 
course  of  this  mortal  pilgrimage.  This  is  the  purest 
delight  that  we  can  taste  in  this  valley  of  tears. 

I  trust,  my  dearly  beloved  brethren,  that  these 
sublime  o])jects  shall  not  have  been  presented  to 
you  in  vain.  I  trust  that  so  many  exhortations 
will  not  fall  to  the  ground  totally  without  suc- 
cess. I  trust  that  these  first  emotions,  which  it 
i:$  impossible  to  withhold  from  an  expiring  Sa- 
viour, will  not  be  as  the  earJif  cloud,  and  as  the 
morning  den\  Hos.  vi.  4.  which  appear  for  a  mo- 
ment, and  are  dissipated  in  a  moment.  I  trust  the> 
will  henceforward  engage  your  heart,  your  mind, 
your  whole  life,  and  that  they  will  accompany  you  to 
the  bed  of  death,  I  trust,  tliat^\hen  this  awful  ])eriod 

comes. 


Tlw  Crucifixion.  123 

comes,  instead  of  that  mortal  reluctance,  instead  of 
those  insupportable  forebodings  which  unrepented 
guilt  inspires,  the  image  of  Jesus  Christ  crucihed,  pre- 
sent to  your  eyes  ;  what  do  I  say,  of  Jesus  Christ 
crucified  ?  of  Jesus  Christ  raised  from  the  dead,  glo- 
rious, sitting  at  the  right  hand  of  his  Father  ;  of  Je- 
sus Christ,  presenting  continually  before  his  eyes  the 
value  of  that  blood  which  he  shed  for  the  salvation 
of  the  human  race  ;  of  Jesus  Christ  extending  his 
arms  to  receive  your  departing  spirit,  that  he  may 
bind  it  up  in  the  bundle  of  life :  I  trust  that  this 
image  will  dispel  all  the  terrors  of  death,  and  thus 
prepare  you  to  pass  from  the  dispensation  of  grace, 
to  the  dispensation  of  glory. 

In  the  dispensation  of  grace,  you  have  beheld 
the  Son  of  God  invested  with  i he  foi'm  of  a  servant  ; 
in  the  dispensation  of  glory,  you  shall  behold  him 
arrayed  in  ail  splendour  and  m.agnificence.  hi  the 
dispensation  of  grace,  you  have  beheld  the  King  of 
kings  attended  by  an  humble  train  of  disciples  of 
but  mean  appearance  :  in  the  dispensation  of  glory, 
you  shall  behold  him  accompanied  by  the  heavenly 
hosts,  legions  of  angels  and  archangels,  of  the  che- 
rubim and  of  the  seraphim.  In  the  dispensation  of 
grace,  you  have  beheld  Jesus  Christ  expiring  igno- 
miniously  upon  a  cross  :  in  the  dispensation  of  glory, 
you  shall  behold  him  in  the  clouds  of  heaven,  judg- 
ing the  quick  and  the  dead.  In  the  dispensation  of 
o-race,  you  have  heard  the  lips  of  your  Saviour  thufi 
speaking  peace  to  your  soul :  Son,  be  of  good  cheer,  thy 
sins  are  forgiven  thee  :  in  the  dispensation  of  glory, 
you  shall  hear  this  decision  from  his  mouth  ;  "  Come, 
ye  blessed  of  my  Father,  inherit  the  kingdom  pre- 
pared for  you  from  the  foundation  of  the  world,'' 
Matth.  XXV.  34-  May  God  of  his  infinite  mercy 
grant  it  I  To  him  be  honour  and  glory  now  and 
for  ever.     Amen. 

N.  B.  The 


C    1^4    )  ^ 


N.  B.    The  next  Sermon   in   the  series,  that  on  ; 

The  Resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ,   which  is  the  j 

eighth  of  Vol.  II.  of  Mr  Robinson's  Selection,  may  | 

be  read  with  advantage  in  this  place.  ; 


SERMON 


SERMON  V, 

OBSCURE  FAITH; 

OR 

The  Blessedness  of  believing^  without  having 

seen. 


John  xx.  2y. 

Jesus  saith  unto  him,  Thomas,  because  thou  hast  seen 
me  thou  hast  believed :  blessed  are  thei/  that  have 
not  seen,  and  yet  have  believed, 

STRANGE  is  the  condition  in  which  Providence 
has  placed  the  Christian.  He  is  ever  v^alking 
in  the  midst  of  darkness  and  obscurity.  He  is 
placed  between  two  periods  of  gloominess  ;  between 
the  cloudy  night  of  the  past,  and  the  still  darkei: 
night  of  futurity.  Does  he  wish  to  ascertain  the 
truths,  which  are  the  object  of  his  faith  ?  They  are 
founded  on  facts  ;  and  in  order  to  be  assured  of  those 
facts,    he    must   force  his  way  backward,  through 

more 


126  Obscure  Faith, 

more  than  eighteen  hundred  centuries :  he  must  dig 
truth  and  falsehood  out  of  the  rubbish  of  tradition ; 
out  of  the  captious  systems  of  the  enemies  of  Chris- 
tianity ;  nay,  sometimes,  out  of  the  pious  frauds, 
on  which  an  indiscreet  zeal  has  attempted  to  esta- 
bhsh  it. 

If  he  wishes  to  ascertain  the  reality  of  that  bless- 
edness which  is  the  object  of  his  hope,  he  must 
plunge  himself,  in  quest  of  it,  into  periods  which 
do  not  as  yet  subsist.  He  must  lualk  hy  faith  and 
not  hij  sight  2  Cor.  v.  7.  he  must  depart,  as  Abra- 
ham did,  and  leave  his  ki7idred  and  his  father's  house, 
without  knowing,  precisely,  whither  he  goes,  Heb.  xi. 
8.  It  is  necessary  that  his  persuasion,  if  I  may  so 
express  myself,  should  form  a  new  creation  of  things, 
which  have  no  real  existence  as  to  him;  or,  to  use 
the  expression  of  St  Paul,  his  faith  must  be  the  sub- 
stance of  things  hoped  for,  and  the  evidence  of  things 
not  seen,  Heb.  xi.  1.  Now,  it  is  to  such  obscurity,  it 
is  to  such  darkness,  that  a  man  is  called  to  sacrifice 
all  that  the  human  mind  is  taught  to  consider  as  the 
greatest  reality  and  certainty,  I  mean  the  decisions 
of  reason,  and  the  felicities  of  a  present  world. 
What  a  situation  I  What  a  strange  situation  I 

But  be  it  as  it  may,  we,  this  day,  place  ourselves, 
raj  brethren,  between  these  two  dark  clouds  ;  be- 
tween the  night  of  the  past,  and  the  night  of  futu- 
rity. In  what  are  the  duties  of  this  day  to  termi- 
nate ?  What  is  the  language  suitable  to  t\\Q>  day 
which  is  now  passing  ?  I  believe  :  I  hope.  I  believe 
that  the  Word  teas  made  flesh,  that  he  suffered,  that  he 
died,  that  he  rose  again  :  this  is  the  night  of  the 
past.  /  hope  that,  in  virtue  of  this  incarnation,  of 
these  sufferings,  of  this  resurrection,  "an  entrance  shall 
be  ministered  unto  me  abundantly,  into  the  everlasting 
kingdom  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,"  2  Pet.  i . 
11.  and  that  I  shall  partake  in  the  felicity  cf  the  evc-r 

*  blessed 


Obscure  Faith,  ITl 

blessed  God  :  this  is  the  night  of  futurity.  /  hclievef 
and  to  that  belief  I  immolate  all  the  ideas  of  my  in-» 
tellect,  all  the  systems  of  my  reason.  /  hojje,  and 
to  those  hopes  I  immolate  all  the  attractives  of  sen- 
sual appetite,  all  the  charms  of  the  visible  creation  : 
and  were  ail  the  kingdoms  of  the  world  and  the  glory 
of  the?7i,  Matt.  iv.  8.  to  be  put  in  my  offer,  on  the 
condition  that  I  should  renounce  my  hopes,  I  would 
consider  the  former  hit  dung,  Phil.  iii.  8.  and  cleave 
to  the  latter  as  the  only  real  and  solid  good. 

Who  is  there  among  you,  my  brethren,  w^ho  feels 
himself  capable  of  this  efibrt  of  mind  1  I  acknow- 
ledge him  to  be  a  true  disciple  of  Jesus  Christ.  He 
may  rest  assured  that  he  shall  be  recei^^ed  as  a  worthy 
partaker  at  that  mysterious  table,  w^hich  sovereign 
wisdom  is  once  more,  this  day,  furnishing  before 
our  eyes.  But  he  may  likewise  rest  assured,  that  his 
felicity,  veiled,  invisible  as  it  is,  shall  remain  more 
firm  and  unshaken,  than  all  those  things  which  are 
the  idols  of  the  children  of  this  world.  To  medita- 
tion on  this  interesting  subject  I  devote  the  present 
discourse,  to  which  you  cannot  apply  an  attention 
too  profound. 

The  occasion  of  the  words  of  our  text  it  W'Ould 
be  unnecessary  to  indicate.  Which  of  my  hearers 
can  be  such  a  novice  in  the  gospel  history  as  to  be 
ignoi  ant  of  it  ?  Thomas  was  not  present  with  the 
other  apostles,  when  Jesus  Christ  appeared  unto 
them,  after  he  had  left  the  tomb.  His  absence  pro- 
duced incredulity.  He  refuses  to  yield  to  the  united 
testimony  of  the  whole  apostolic  college.  He  so- 
lemnly pretests  that  there  is  but  one  way  to  -con- 
vince him  of  the  certainty  of  the  resurrection  of 
,)esus  Christ,  namely  to  produce  him  alive.  No,  says 
he,  except  I  shall  see  I?i  his  hand^  the  print  of  the  nails^ 
and  put  niy  finger  into  the  print  of  the  ?iails,  and  thrust 
my  hand  into  his  side,  J  tvill  ?iot  believe,  John  xx.  25. 
-^csus  Clu'i^^t  is  plea'cd  to  adapt  lis  condescension  to 

2 


12S  Obscure  Faith, 

the  weakness  of  this  disciple,  and  to  gratify  a  pre- 
tension so  arrogant  and  rash  :  he  appears  to  Thomas, 
and  says  to  him  ;  "  Reach  hither  thy  finger,  and  he- 
boid my  hands ;  and  reach  hither  thy  hana,  and 
thrust  it  into  my  side  :  and  be  not  faithless,  but  be- 
lieving," ver.  27.  Thomas  is  drawn  different  ways  ; 
by  the  shame  of  having  disbelieved,  and  Uie  joy 
which  he  felt  in  being  convinced  by  the  testimony  of 
his  own  senses,  and  exclaims,  My  Lord  and  my  God  ! 
upon  this  Jesus  Christ  addresses  him  in  the  words  of 
the  text :  "  Thomas,  because  thou  hast  seen  me  thou 
hast  believed :  blessed  are  they  that  have  not  seen, 
and  yet  have  believed." 

You  perceive  from  the  occasion  on  which  the 
words  were  spoken,  that  they  point,  in  the  first  in- 
stance, to  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ.  We 
shall  take  care,  accordingly,  not  to  lose  sight  of  this 
object.  Nevertheless,  as  the  proposition  of  our 
blessed  Lord  is  general,  we  shall  take  it  in  all  its  ge- 
nerality :  and  shall  discourse  to  you  of  that  obscure 
faith  which  reverts  to  periods  long  since  past,  and 
looks  forward  into  periods  hidden  in  a  remote  futu- 
rity. The  nature  of  obscure  faith  ;  the  excellency  of 
obscure  faith  :  this  is  the  simple  division  of  my  pre- 
sent discourse.  Or,  to  convey  a  still  clearer  idea  of 
my  design,  under  the  first  head,  I  shall  endeavour  to 
unfold  the  ambiguity  of  that  expression ;  to  believe 
ivithout  having  seen  :  in  the  second,  I  shall  evince  the 
truth  of  this  proposition  ;  blessed  are  they  that  have 
not  seen^  and  yet  have  believed, 

I.  Let  us,  in  the  first  place,  endeavour  to  ex- 
plain the  nature  of  obscure  faith  :  or,  as  we  have 
announced  the  subject  of  this  first  branch  of  our 
discourse,  let  us  attempt  to  unfold  the  ambiguity  of 
the  expression,  Thomas,  because  thou  hast  seen,  thou 
hast  believed:  blessed  arc  they  that  have  not  sccn^and 

yet 
2 


Ohscure  Faith.  129 

ijet  hate  believed.  By  obscure  faith  we  here  mean, 
that  which  is  founded,  not  on  what  a  man  hath  seen 
with  his  own  eyes,  not  on  what  he  has  discovered  to 
be  true  by  the  powers  of  his  own  reason,  but  on  tes- 
timony worthy  of  credit. 

Let  this  definition  be  carefully  remarked  :  and 
let  this  be  constantly  kept  in  sight,  that  though  the 
faith  of  which  we  are  speaking,  has  not  a  certainty 
resting  on  the  evidence  of  the  senses,  or  on  the 
conclusions  of  right  reason,  it  has  a  certainty  per- 
fect in  its  kind,  that  which  rests  on  a  testimony 
worthy  of  credit.  Take  care,  therefore,  not  to  con- 
found an  obscure  faith  with  a  fluctuating,  unset- 
tled, ill-founded  faith.  They  are  two  things  per- 
fectly distinct,  and  it  is  impossible  to  distinguish 
them  too  carefully.  The  obscurity,  of  which  we 
are  going  to  treat,  is  by  no  means  incompatible  with 
evidence. 

In  order  to  comprehend  it  fully,  it  is  necessary  to 
distinguish  two  species  of  evidence  :  evidence  of 
the  object,  and  evidence  of  testimony.  We  call 
evidence  of  the  oJjject,  that  which  rests,  as  I  have 
said,  either  on  the  deposition  of  the  senses,  or  on 
the  discernment  of  sound  reason.  I  believe  that 
you  are  now  assembled  within  the  circumference  of 
these  walls  :  I  believe  it,  because  I  see  it  is  so.  The 
evidence  which  I  have  on  this  subject,  is  that  species 
of  evidence  which  I  have  denominated  evidence  qf 
the  object^  and  which  is  founded  on  the  deposition  of 
the  senses.  In  like  manner,  I  believe  that  so  long 
as  you  remain  within  the  circumference  of  these 
walls,  you  are  not  in  your  own  habitations.  The  evi- 
dence which  I  have  to  su})port  this  belief,  is  still 
that  which  I  have  denominated  evidence  of  the  oljecty 
namely,  that  which  is  founded  on  the  light  of  my 
own" reason,  whereby  I  am  assured,  in  a  manner 
which  leaves  me  not  the  liberty  of  so  much  as  doubt- 

voL.  VI,  K  ingj 


ISO  Obscure  Faiilu 

ing,  that  so  long  as  you  remain  within  this  temple, 
you  cannot  possibly  be  in  any  other  place. 

But  if  there  be  evidence  of  object^  there  is  likewise 
evidence  of  testimony »  I  believe  there  is  a  vast  re- 
gion on  the  globe,  called  the  kingdom  of  Persia.  I 
have  evidence  to  support  this  belief:  not  the  evidence 
of  object^  but  the  evidence  of  testimony,  1  believe  that 
there  is  such  a  kingdom,  though  I  have  never  seen 
it  with  my  own  eyes  :  but  there  is  such  a  cloud 
of  witnesses,  of  undoubted  credit,  who  assure  me  of 
it,  that  the  evidence  of  testimony  supplies  the  evi- 
dence of  object.  In  like  manner,  1  believe  that  a 
vessel  of  such  or  such  a  construction,  and  of  so 
many  tons  burthen,  requires  such  a  depth  of  water. 
I  believe  this,  not  because  my  reason  has  by  its  own 
powers  made  the  discovery,  for  I  never  made  me- 
chanism of  this  kind  my  study  ;  but  the  unanimous 
deposition  of  all  who  understand  the  art  of  ship- 
building, gives  me  full  assurance  of  the  fact,  fills 
the  place  of  my  own  intimate  perception,  and 
the  evidence  of  testimony  supplies  the  evidence  of 
object. 

Having  thus  explained  our  meaning,  when  we  say 
that  faith  is  obscure,  vvhen  we  say  that  the  Christian 
belie veth  what  he  seeth  not,  we  do  not  by  this 
understand,  that  he  believeth  in  what  is  destitute  of 
proof,  we  only  mean  that  he  believeth  the  truth  of 
facts  of  which  he  has  not  been  an  eye  witness,  that 
he  believeth  in  truths  which  he  could  not  have  dis- 
covered by  his  own  reason,  and  that  he  hopes  for  a 
felicity  of  which  he  has  not  a  distinct  idea  :  but  he 
believes  those  facts,  on  the  unanimous  testimony  of 
a  great  number  of  witnesses,  who  could  not  possibly 
have  acted  in  concert  to  deceive  him  :  he  believes 
those  truths  on  an  infallible  testimony  :  he  hopes  on 
that  same  testimony,  namely,  on  tlie  v;ord  of  God 

himself. 


Obscure  Faith,  131 

himself.     In  all  these  things,  the  evidence  of  testi- 
mony supplies  the  evidence  of  object. 

That  it  is  of  this  kind  of  faith,  we  are  to  under- 
stand these  words  in  our  text,  Blessed  are  they  who 
have  not  seen ^  and  yet  have  believed^  the  occasion  on 
which  they  were  pronounced  permits  us  not  to 
doubt.  Of  what  was  Jesus  Christ  speaking  to  Tho- 
mas ?  Of  his  own  resurrection.  Who  are  the  per- 
sons he  had  in  view,  whom  Providence  was  after- 
wards to  call  to  believe  without  having  seen  ?  Those 
who  could  not  possibly  be  the  eye  witnesses  of  that 
resurrection.  But  were  the  persons,  who  should  be 
called  to  believe  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection,  to 
believe  it  without  satisfying  reasons  of  its  truth  and 
certainty  ?  \^y  no  means.  Call  to  your  recollec- 
tion, a  part  of  what  we  submitted  to  your  consider- 
ation, on  this  subject,  upon  another  occasion  *.  We 
have  in  confirmation  of  the  resurrection  of  Jesus 
Christ,  1.  Presumptions,  2.  Proofs,  and,  3.  Demon- 
strations. 


1.  The  circumstances  of  the  death  of  the  Saviour, 
and  of  his  burial,  furnish  us  with  presumptions  on 
this  subject.  Jesus  Christ  died  :  his  body  was  de- 
posited in  the  tomb  ;  but  a  few  days  afterwards  was 
not  to  be  found  there.  We  thence  presume  that 
Jesus  Christ  is  risen  again.  If  Jesus  Christ  be 
not  risen,  his  body  must  have  been  conveyed  away: 
but  how  is  it  possible  to  maintain  such  an  asser- 
tion ?  To  whom  shall  we  impute  such  conveyance  ? 
Not  surely  to  his  enemies.  Could  they  be  suspec- 
ted of  a  design  to  contribute  to  his  glory,  by  giving 

2  currency 

*  The  reader  is  referred  to  the  sermon  on  T/ie  Resurrer/fon  oj 
Jesus  Christy  page  210,  &.c.  of  Sermon  VIII.  Vo].  II.  of  Mr  Rubin- 
son's  Selection. 


132  Obscure  Fail/i, 

ciuTency  to  the  report  of  his  resurrection  ?  It  can 
as  little  be  imputed  to  his  disciples.  They  had  no 
inclination  to  do  so:  for  how  could  men,  so  no- 
toriously timid,  have  formed  an  enferprize  so  dar- 
ing and  dangerous,  and  that  in  favour  of  a  man, 
(I  go  on  the  supposition  that  Jesus  Christ  did  not 
rise  again)  who  had  thus  abused  their  credulity? 
Eut  had  their  inclination  been  ever  so  strong-,  was 
it  in  their  power  either  to  surprize  or  to  discomfit  a 
guard  forewarned  of  the  design?  These  I  call^re- 
sumjJtiojis. 

2.  The  testimony  of  the  apostles  furnishes  us 
with  proofs  of  the  resurrection.  This  testimony 
possesses  no  less  than  eight  distinct  characters, 
"udiich  raise  it  beyond  the  reach  of  all  suspicion  :  i. 
The  nature  of  the  vv'itnesses,  who  had  neither  -the 
credit,  nor  the  riches,  nor  the  eloquence  necessary 
to  practise  an  imposture  on  mankind  :  ii,  The  num- 
ber of  those  witnesses,  amounting  to  more  than  five 
hundred  :  iii.  The  nature  of  the  facts  which  are  the 
subject  of  their  evidence,  things  in  which  ii  was  im- 
possible '  they  should  deceive  themselves,  things 
\vhich  they  had  seen,  heard,  and  perceived  in  the 
most  sensible  and  palpable  manner  :  iv,  The  unifor- 
mity of  their  testimony,  which  in  no  one  instance 
ever  contradicted  itself:  v.  The  judges  before  v;hoixi 
their  evidence  was,  given  ;  judges  expert  in  the  art 
of  involving  cheats  in  self-contradiction,  but  who 
never  could  detect  any,  in  the  witnesses  of  whom 
we  are  speaking:  vi.  The  place  where  their  testi- 
mony was  published  ;  for  had  the  apostles  gone  and 
published  the  resurrection  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  in  re- 
gions remote  from  that  where  the  fact  could  be  com- 
pletely sif^ted,  they  might  have  fallen  under  suspi- 
cion ;  but  they  attest  it  to  the  face  of  the  wliole  cily 
of  Jerusalem  itself:  vii.  The  time  when  this  testi- 
mony 


Obscure  Faith,  IZ"^ 

niony  was  published,  respecting  which  the  same  rea- 
soning applies  which  does  to  t^ao,  circumstance  of 
place  :  viii,  The  motives  by  v/hich  those  witnesses 
were  actuated,  and  which  could  be  no  other  but  the 
satisfying  of  their  own  consciences,  as,  so  far  from 
having  a  temporal  interest  to  promote,  by  the  pub- 
lication of  this  event,  every  temporal  interest  press- 
ed in  the  opposite  direction* 


3.  But  we  have  likewise,  of  this  truth,  demon- 
strations properly  so  called.  With  these  we  are 
furnished  in  the  miraculous  gifts  communicated  to 
those  who  attest  it ;  of  which  we  cannot  entertain 
any  doubt,  without  taxing  with  extravagance  three 
sorts  of  persons,  equally  clear  of  all  ground  of  suspi- 
cion, on  such  an  occasion  ;  i,  The  apostles,  who 
give  the  history  of  those  miracles,  and  relate  in  a 
manner  the  best  adapted  to  expose  imposture,  on 
the  supposition  of  their  having  been  impostors  : 
ii,  Their  enemies,  who  in  their  writings  against 
them,  have  not  denied  that  they  wrought  miracles, 
but  that  these  miracles  were  a  proof  of  the  truth  of 
their  doctrine :  iii.  Finally,  their  proselytes,  who 
had  the  greatest  imaginable  interest  in  examining 
whether  it  were  true  that  the  apostles  wrought  mi- 
racles, who  had  all  possible  opportunities  of  ascer- 
taining the  fact,  and  who  sacriiiced  their  property, 
their  reputation,  their  life,  for  a  religion  entirely 
resting  on  this  truth — The  apostles  work  miracles. 
These  we  call  so  many  demonstrations. 

This  recapitulation  sufficiently  instructs  us,  that 
we  are  not  called  upon  to  believe  aii  event  so  very 
extraordinary,  as  if  it  were  destitute  of  proof:  on 
the  contrary,  we  believe  it  on  proofs  clear,  cogent 
and  decisive.  When,  therefore,  Jesus  Christ  saith  : 
Blessed  are  they  xvho  have  not  seen.,  a7id  yet  have  he- 

lieved 


1 S4  Obscure  *Faith . 

Ikved^  he  means  not  to  say,  that  it  is  blessed  to  be- 
lieve things  destitute  of  evidence  :  he  speaks  only 
of  things  which  have  not  the  evidence  of  object,  but 
which  have  that  of  testimony. 

Let  us  pursue  this  thought  a  little  farther.  The 
idea  which  we  have  suggested  of  obscure  faith,  dis- 
tinguishes it  from  three  kinds  of  conviction,  which 
are  but  too  frequently  confounded  with  it :  the  faith 
extorted  by  tyranny ;  the  faith  generated  in  the 
brain  of  the  enthusiast ;  and  the  faith  of  the  super- 
stitious. 

(1)  The  faith  of  which  we  speak,  must  be  care- 
fully distinguished  from  the  faith  which  is  extorted 
by  tyranny.  We  do  not  here  understand  that  which 
violence  would  attempt  to  produce  by  the  terror  of 
punishment.  Never  did  racks,  gibbets  and  stakes 
produce,  in  the  soul,  any  thing  like  conviction  in 
favour  of  a  religion  which  pretended  to  establish 
itself  by  arguments  so  odious  and  detestable.  But 
there  is  a  tyranny  of  a  different  kind,  which  has 
produced  believers  not  a  few.  By  dint  of  attesting 
fictions,  men  have  forced  them  into  credit :  by  dint 
of  insolent  pretensions  to  infallibility,  the  simple 
have  sometimes  been  prevailed  upon  to  admit  it ; 
and  the  sim.ple  generally  constitute  the  bulk  of  man- 
^/nd. 

We  denominate  that  the  faith  extorted  hy  tyranny^ 
which  is  yielded  to  the  insolent  decisions  of  a 
doctor,  who  gives  himself  out  as  infallible,  with- 
out proving  it  \  or  to  fabulous  legends,  unsupport- 
ed by  any  respectable  testimony.  How,  under 
the  pretext  that  I  am  bound  to  believe  facts,  which 
I  may  never  have  seen  with  my  own  eyes,  am  I 
laid  under  an  obligation  to  swallow  every  thing  that 

a  legen- 


Obscure  Faitlh  i^jg 

a  legendary  is  pleased  to  tell  me  ?  How,  under  the 
pretext  that  1  am  bound  to  believ  e  truths  which  are 
above  the  reach  of  my  reason,  am. I  laid  under  an 
obligation  to  beheve  every  thing  proposed  to  me 
by  a  man,  who  may  be  practising  upon  my  credu- 
lity ?  And  upon  my  refusing  to  believe  on  such  a 
foundation,  shall  I  be  taxed  with  being  incredulous 
like  Thomas,  and  with  saying  as  he  did,  "  Except 
I  shall  see  in  his  hands  the  print  of  the  nails,  and 
put  my  finger  into  the  print  of  the  nails,  and  thrust 
my  hand  into  his  side,  I  will  not  believe  ?'' 

If  you  would  have  me  believe  the  facts  which  you 
propose,  produce  me  the  proofs  which  support 
them,  if  not  as  complete  as  those  which  assure  me 
of  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ,  at  least  such  as 
are  somewhat  of  a  similar  nature  ;  and  if  you  wish 
I  should  consider  you  as  infallible,  like  the  apos- 
tles, produce  me  proofs  of  your  inflxllibility,  equi- 
valent to  those  which  the  apostles  produced  of 
their's.  But  if  on  examining  such  pretended  facts, 
I  discover  that  they  are  fictions  merely  ;  if  on 
examining  the  foundation  upon  which  your  infal- 
libility rests,  I  find  that  the  men  who  gave  them- 
selves out  for  infallible,  while  they  lay  claim  to  the 
infallibility  of  the  apostles,  are  undermining  the 
doctrine  of  the  apostles,  I  shall  not  reckon  my- 
self obliged  to  pay  the  slightest  deference  to 
their  decisions.  The  faith  which  these  decisions 
attempt  to  produce,  will  be  faith  extorted  by  ty- 
ranny, and  which  will  have  no  relation  what- 
ever to  that  faith  which  Jesus  Christ  expects  from 
his  disciples,  and  which  is,  in  truth,  obscure,  but, 
nevertheless,  well  founded  ;  which  is  destitute,  in- 
deed, of  the  evidence  of  object,  but  which  is 
ever  accompanied  with  the  evidence  of  testi- 
mony* 

(2)  U 


136  Obscure  Faith. 

(2)  In  the  second  place,  the  faith,  of  which  we 
are  treating,  must  be  distinguished  from  that  of  the 
enthusiast ;  I  mean  that  of  certain  Christians,  who 
found  the  reasons  which  induce  them  tp  beheve, 
entirely  on  such  and  such  impulses,  which  they  pre- 
tend to  be  the  operation  of  the  Spirit  of  God  :  im- 
pulses destitute  of  illumination,  and  which  deter- 
mine the  person  thus  agitated,  to  yield  his  assent 
to  a  proposition  unsupported  by  proof,  or,  at  most, 
recommended  by  an  air  of  probability.  One  of  the 
marks  which  distinguish  false  zeal  from  true,  is, 
that  this  last,  I  mean  true  zeal,  sacrifices  its  own 
glory  to  that  of  religion,  and  is  infinitely  better 
pleased  to  acknowledge  its  own  error,  than  to 
spread  the  slightest  cloud  over  that  pure  and  ge- 
nial light  in  which  religion  is  arrayed.  A  man, 
on  the  contrary,  who  is  actuated  by  a  false  zeal,  sa- 
crifices, without  hesitation,  the  glory  of  religion  to 
his  own  ;  and  maintains,  at  the  expence  of  truth 
itself,  the  errors  which  he  has  advanced. 

This  has  been  found  to  be  the  case  with  certain 
eminent  names,  on  the  subject  of  our  present  dis- 
cussion. The  vehemence  of  the  controversies  which 
have  been  carried  on,  respecting  the  operation  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  on  the  soul  of  believers,  has  fre- 
quently carried  some  of  the  disputants  farther  than 
they  themselves  intended.  In  the  heat  of  argumen- 
tation, they  have  asserted,  that  the  action  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  which  operates  in  the  faithful,  is  car- 
ried so  far  as  to  give  them  a  degree  of  faith,  supe- 
rior to  the  reasons  which  they  have  for  believing. 
When  pressed  by  their  adversaries,  they  ought  to 
have  acknowledged  this  to  be  one  of  the  proposi- 
tions which  one  is  tempted  to  advance  in  the  warmth 
of  dispute,  and  which  candour,  without  hesitation,  is 
disposed  to  retract,  after  the  heat  has  subsided.  But 
this  were  a  sacrifice  too  great  for  self-love  to  make  : 

it 


Obscure  Faith,  237 

it  is  deemed  better  that  religion  should  suffer  from 
the  intemperate  zeal  of  the  sophist,  than  that  the 
sophist  should  correct  his  hasty  position,  by  the  il- 
lumination of  religion.    , 

Thus,  in  order  to  support  one  absurdity,  a  still 
greater  absurdity  has  been  advanced.  It  has  been 
maintained,  not  only  that  the  following  propositroii 
is  true,  namely.  The  impulse  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
gives  us  a  faith,  superior  to  the  reasons  which  we 
have  for  believing ;  but  this  is  absolutely  neces- 
sary :  for,  it  has  been  alleged,  that  the  Christian 
religion  being  destitute  of  proofs  which  enforce  as- 
sent, all  those  who  should  refuse  to  believe  what  is 
destitute  of  this  kind  of  proof,  must,  in  so  doing,  re- 
fuse to  believe  the  Christian  religion. 

God  forbid  that  we  should  attempt  to  defend, 
with  weapons  so  empoisoned,  the  truths  of  religion! 
It  was  not  thus  that  they  w^ere  defended  by  Jesus 
Christ  and  his  apostles.  They  called  on  men  to 
believe,  but  they,  at  the  same  time,  adduced  proof 
of  what  they  wished  to  be  received  as  the  object  of 
faith.  The  Spirit  of  God,  undoubtedly,  operates 
on  the  soul  of  every  one  who  implores  his  assistance, 
but  it  is  by  making  them  feel  the  force  of  the  proofs, 
not  by  convincing  them  of  what  it  is  impossible  to 
prove.  And  who  could  be  condemned  for  not  hav- 
ing believed,  were  Christianity  destitute  of  suffici- 
ent proof?  Would  not  the  infidel  be  warranted  in 
alleging  :  "  I  am  not  to  blame,  if  I  withhold  my 
"  assent  to  such  a  proposition  :  I  do  not  feel  that 
"  impulse  which  engages  one  to  believe  w^hat  can- 
"  not  be  proved  ?"  But  the  notion  which  we  have 
given  of  faith,  confounds  every  one  who  refuses 
to  believe.  We  say,  with  Jesus  Christ  of  the  un- 
believers of  his  time:  "  This  is  the  condemnation, 
that  light  is  come  into  the  world,  and  men  loved 

darkness 


138  Obscure  Faith, 

darkness  rather  than  light,  because  their  deeds  were 
evil,"  John  iii.  19. 

(3)  Finally,  the  notion  which  we  have  given  of 
faith,  distinguishes  it  from  that  of  the  superstitious. 
To  believe,  in  the  view  of  doing  honour  to  religion, 
a  doctrine  weakly  proved,  whatever  may  be  the  ori- 
gin of  that  doctrine,  is  to  have  a  superstitious  faitlu 
Under  this  description  may  be  ranked  what  has 
been  denominated  "  faith  extorted  by  tyranny,  and 
faith  generated  in  the  brain  of  the  enthusiast."  But 
we  have,  under  this  particular,  a  different  kind  of 
superstition  in  view.  To  believe  a  truth  complete- 
ly proved,  but  without  having  examined  the  proofs 
which  support  it,  is  to  have  the  faith  of  superstition. 
A  truth,  of  which  I  perceive  not  the  proofs,  is  no 
truth  with  respect  to  me.  What  renders  my  dispo- 
sition of  sou]  acceptable  in  the  sight  of  God,  when 
I  receive  what  he  is  pleased  to  reveal  to  me,  is  my 
reception  of  it  as  an  intelligent  being,  after  having 
weighed  the  motives  which  induced  me  to  give  it 
welcome  ;  after  having  discovered,  on  putting  them 
in  the  balance  with  the  opposite  motives,  that  the 
iirst  had  greatly  the  preponderancy  over  the  others. 
But  to  believe  a  truth  with  precipitation,  to  believe 
it  v»/ithout  knowledge,  is  mere  superstition.  If  it 
should  determine  you  to  declare  yourself  on  the 
side  of  truth,  it  must  be  entirely  l3y  chance,  and 
which  may,  to-morrow,  plunge  you  into  error,  as  it 
induces  you,  to-day,  to  embrace  the  truth. 

Obscure  faith,  then,  is  not  a  persuasion  unsup- 
ported by  proof,  it  is,  in  truth,  destitute  of  the 
proofs  which  constitute  the  evidence  of  object ;  but 
not  of  those  which  constitute  the  evidence  of  testi- 
mony, as  was  from  the  beginning  affirmed,  and 
which  it  was  necessary  ofteuer  than  once  to  re- 
peat. 

SERMON 


SERMON  V. 

PJRT 11. 
OBSCURE  FAITH; 


OR, 


The  Blessedness  of  believing^  ^without  having  seen. 


John  xx.  29. 

Jesus  saith  unto  him,  Thonias,  because  thou  hast  seen 
me  thou  hast  believed :  blessed  are  they  that  have  not 
seen^  and  yet  have  believed. 

WE  have  endeavoured  to  explain  the  natu^rt  of 
obscure  faith  :  and  now  proceed,  as  was 
proposed, 

II.  To  point  out  the  excellency  of  this  obscure 
faith.  After  having  attempted  to  unfold  the  ambi- 
guity of  the  expression  in  my  text,  to  believe  without 
having  seen,  we  must  endeavour  to  evince  the  truth 
of  it,  by  demonstrating  this  proposition,  anounced 
by  our  blessed  Lord,  "  Blessed  are  they  who  have 
not  seen,  and  yet  have  believed." 

These 


140  Obscure  Faiih, 

These  words  admit  of  a  very  simple,  and  very  na- 
tural commentary,  which  we  shall  first  produce,  in 
order  to  explain  them.  The  point  in  question  is 
the  resurrection  of  the  Lord  Jesus  :  ThomavS  is  to 
be  convinced  of  the  certainty  of  it,  by  nothing  short 
of  the  testimony  of  his  own  eyes  :  this  mode  of  pro- 
ducing conviction,  was  going,  henceforward,  to 
cease.  Jesus  Christ  was  shortly  to  leave  the  world: 
a  cloud  was  soon  to  receive  him  out  of  the  sight  of 
the  inhabitants  of  this  earth:  "  The  heavens  must 
now  receive  him,  until  the  times  of  the  restitution 
of  all  things,"  Aets  iii.  21.  The  angels  had  declar- 
ed to  the  apostles,  as  they  stood  rapt  in  astonish- 
ment at  beholding  their  beloved  Master  disappear  : 
"  This  same  Jesus,  which  is  taken  up  from  you  in- 
to heaven,  shall  so  come,  in  like  manner  as  ye  have 
seen  him  go  into  heaven,"  Acts  i.  1 1 .  The  disposition 
of  Thomas's  mind,  therefore,  was  going,  henceforth, 
to  become  universally  fatal.  Every  one  who  should 
say  with  him,  "  Except  I  shall  see  in  his  hands  the 
print  of  the  nails,  and  put  my  finger  into  the  print 
of  the  nails,  and  thrust  my  hand  into  his  side,  I  will 
not  believe,"  must  die  and  perisli  in  unbelief.  There 
was  to  be,  henceforward,  no  other  v/ay  but  this,  of 
believing  without  having  seen,  no  other  means  of 
arriving  at  a  participation  in  the  felicity  of  believers: , 
Thomas^  because  thou  hast  seen  vie,  thou  hast  believed : 
blessed  are  they  that  have  not  seen,  and  yet  have  believed. 

This  commentary  contains  much  good  sense.  It 
does  not,  however,  seem  to  me  to  have  exhausted, 
the  whole  meaning  of  Jesus  Christ.  God  is  supreme- 
ly good  :  nothing  appeared  to  him  too  dear  for  the 
salvation  of  the  human  race  :  he  has  made  choice  of 
means  the  best  adapted  to  the  execution  of  this  great 
work.  If  he  has  made  choice  of  means  the  best  a- 
dapted  to  the  salvation  of  the  human  race,  he  has 
likewise  made  choice  of  the  properest  method  of  en- 
abling us  to  avail  ourselves  of  the  appointed  means, 
and  that  method  is  obscure  faith.     Why  so  ?     This 

is 


Obscure  laith.  141 

is  the  point  whicli  we  must  attempt  to  elucidate  : 
and  some  time  ago,  you  will  please  to  recollect,  we 
undertook  this  task.  For  when  that  difficulty  was 
urged  against  us,  which  unbelievers  make  the  sub- 
ject of  their  triumph  :  "  Wherefore  did  not  Jesus 
"  Christ  shew  himself  alive  after  his  passion,  to  his 
"judges,  to  his  executioners?"  We  made  this  re- 
ply, that  the  gift  of  working  miracles  bestowed  on 
the  apostles,  and  on  the  first  Christians,  constituted 
a  proof  more  irresistible  of  his  resurrection,  than  if 
he  had  shewn  himself  then,  nay,  than  if  he  were 
still  to  shew  himself  risen  at  this  day. 

It  might  be  retorted  upon  us,  "  That  these  two 
"  proofs,  that  of  miracles  performed  by  his  dis- 
"  ciples,  and  that  of  his  personal  manifestation, 
"  were  not  incompatible  with  each  other  :  Jesus 
"  Christ  might  first  have  shewn  himself  alive  after 
"  his  resurrection  ;  here  would  have  been  one  kind 
"  of  proof:  he  might  afterwards,  upon  his  ascen- 
"  sion,  have  sent  the  Holy  Spirit  to  his  apostles  ; 
«^  this  would  have  constituted  a  second  kind  of 
'^  proof.  These  two  kinds  of  proof  united,  would 
"  have  placed  the  truth  of  his  resurrection  far  be- 
"  yond  the  reach  of  all  suspicion.  Wherefore  did 
"  he  not  employ  them  ?  Wherefore  did  he  not 
"  give  to  a  truth  of  his  religion  so  interesting,  and 
*'  of  such  capital  importance,  every  species  of  proof 
"  of  which  it  is  susceptible  ?"  To  this  we  still  re- 
ply, that  obscure  faith  was  a  method  far  more  pro- 
per to  conduct  us  to  salvation  than  a  clear  faith, 
founded  on  the  testimony  of  the  senses,  or  on 
the  personal  discoveries  of  the  believer  himself: 
"  Blessed  are  they  that  have  not  seen,  and  yet  have 
believed." 

A  principle  which  we  have,  on  other  occasions, 
laid  down,  will  justify  this  reply.     God  has  placed 
us  in  this  world,  as  in  a  place  of  probation  and  sa- 
crifice. 


142  Obscure  Faiih. 

crifice.  It  is  his  will  that  the  manner  in  which  we 
correspond  to  this  view  of  his  providence,  should 
determine  our  everlasting  destiny.  Let  us  try  clear- 
ly to  explain  this  principle,  before  we  apply  it  to 
the  subject  in  hand. 

In  strictness  of  speech,  God  will  not  proportion 
the  celestial  felicity,  which  he  reserves  for  us,  to 
the  exertions  which  we  make  to  attain  it.  Did 
God  observe  the  rules  of  an  exact  distribution  in 
this  respect,  there  is  not  a  single  person  in  the 
world,  who  durst  flatter  himself  with  being  a  par- 
taker in  that  felicity :  because  there  is  no  one,  I 
speak  of  even  the  greatest  saints,  who  does  all  that 
he  ought,  and  all  that  he  might  do,  toward  the  at- 
tainment of  it.  Much  more,  supposing  us  to  have 
done  all  that  we  could,  and  all  that  we  ought  to  do, 
to  be  admitted  to  a  participation  in  this  blessed- 
ness, our  utmost  efforts  never  could  bear  any  pro- 
portion to  it.  We  must  still  say  of  every  thing  we 
undertake  in  order  to  salvation,  what  St  Paul  says 
of  the  most  cruel  sufferings  of  the  martyrs  :  "  They 
are  not  worthy  to  be  compared  with  the  glory  which 
shall  be  revealed  in  us,"  Rom.  viii.  18.  The  most 
extravagant  thought,  accordingly,  that  ever  could 
find  its  way  into  the  mind  of  man,  is  that  of  the 
persons  who  maintain  the  possibility  of  meriting 
heaven  by  their  good  works,  nay,  the  possibility  of 
a  man's  meriting  the  kingdom  of  heaven  for  others, 
after  having  earned  it  for  himself. 

But  though  there  is  not  a  proportion  of  rigorous 
justice,  between  the  heavenly  felicity,  and  tlie  ef- 
forts which  we  make  to  attain  it,  there  is  a  propor- 
tion of  equity  and  of  establishment.  Permit  me  to 
explain  what  I  mean  by  these  words :  God  will  not 
save  mankind,  unless  they  exert  themselves  to  ob- 
tain salvation.  Had  it  been  his  will  to  extend  in- 
discriminating  favour,  lie  had  only  to  open,  without 

rescivntion. 


Obscure  Faith,  143 

reservation,  the  path  to  heaven  ;  he  had  only  to  ex- 
ert the  supreme  power,  which  he  possesses  over 
our  souls,  to  infuse  into  them  virtue  and  illumina- 
tion, and  to  put  us  in  possession  of  a  felicity  already 
completely  acquired,  without  subjecting  us  to  the 
necessity  of  employing  indefatigable  and  uninter- 
mitting  efforts,  in  order  to  our  acquiring  it.  But 
his  views  respecting  man  are  altogether  different 
from  this.  Hence  it  is  that  he  is  pleased  to  repre- 
sent the  life  of  a  Christian,  as  a  narrow  path,  in 
w^hich  he  must  walk  ;  as  a  race  which  he  must 
run  ;  as  a  task  which  he  must  perform  ;  as  a  war- 
fare which  he  has  to  accomplish.  For  this  reason  it 
is,  that  salvation  is  represented  to  us,  as  a  victory 
to  be  won,  as  a  prize  to  be  gained,  as  a  kingdom 
which  can  be  taken  only  by  the  violent,  God,  then, 
has  placed  us  in  this  world,  as  in  a  place  of  pro- 
bation and  sacrifice  :  it  is  his  sovereign  good  plea- 
sure, that  the  manner  in  which  we  correspond  to 
his  gracious  views,  shall  decide  our  everlasting  des- 
tination. 

Let  us  apply  this  principle  to  the  subject  under 
discussion  :  to  that  obscure  faith,  which  discerns,'in 
the  darkness  of  the  past,  those  facts  on  which  the 
great  truths  of  religion  rest,  as  the  building  on  its 
foundation  :  to  that  obscure  faith,  which  penetrates 
into  the  darkness  of  futurity,  there  to  discover  the 
blessedness  which  religion  proposes  to  us  as  the  ob- 
ject of  hope. 

1.  Let  us  apply  the  principle  laid  down,  to  that 
obscure  faith,  which  discerns,  in  the  darkness  of 
the  past,  those  facts  on  which  the  great  truths  of 
religion  rest.  There  is  more  difficulty  in  attaining 
a  discernment  of  the  truth  through  the  darkness  of 
the  past,  than  in  beholding  the  object  with  a  man's 
own  eyes.  It  is  admitted.  Had  Jesus  Christ  ap- 
peared alive  to  his  judges  and  executioners,  after 

i  his 


i  44  Obscure  Faith, 

his  resurrection  ;  were  he  to  appear  to  us,  at  this 
day,  as  risen  from  the  dead,  we  should  have  much 
less  difficulty  in  believing  the  certainty  of  an  event 
on  vv'hich  the  whole  Christian  religion  hinges.  It 
is  admitted.  There  would  be  no  occasion,  in  order 
to  attain  the  conviction  of  it,  to  employ  extensive 
reading,  to  consult  doctors,  to  surmount  the  trouble 
of  profound  meditation,  to  suspend  pleasure,  to  in- 
terrupt business.  It  is  admitted.  But  the  very 
thing  which  constitutes  your  objection  furnishes  me 
with  a  reply.  The  trouble  which  you  must  take, 
before  you  can  acquire  conviction  of  the  resurrec- 
tion of  the  Saviour  of  the  world,  the  extensive  read- 
ing that  is  necessary,  the  consultation  of  learned 
men,  those  efforts  of  profound  meditation  which 
YOU  must  employ,  that  suspension  of  your  pleasures, 
that  interruption  of  your  worldly  business — all,  all 
enter  into  the  plan  of  your  salvation  :  it  is  the  will 
of  God  that  you  should  exert  yourselves  diligently 
for  the  attainment  of  it. 

Let  us  suppose  the  case  of  two  Christians  :  the 
first  shall  be  St  Thomas  :  the  second  a  Christian  of 
our  own  days.  Let  us  suppose  both  the  two  equally 
convinced  of  the  resurrection  of  the  Saviour  of  the 
world  ;  but  acquiring  their  conviction  in  two  diffe- 
rent ways:  Thomas  convinced  by  the  testimony  of 
his  senses  ;  the  modern  Christian,  by  the  attentive 
examination  of  the  proofs  which  establish  the  truth 
of  it :  Whether  of  these  two  Christians,  according 
to  your  judgment,  expresses  the  greater  love  of  the 
truth  ?  Whether  of  these  two  Christians  makes  the 
greatest  sacrifice  :  in  order  to  arrive  at  the  know- 
ledge of  it  ?  The  one  has  only  to  open  his  eyes,  the 
other  must  enter  on  a  course  of  deep  and  serious  re- 
flection. The  one  has  only  to  reach  forth  his  hand, 
to  touch  the  print  of  the  wounds  of  Jesus  Christ;  the 
other  must  exert  all  the  powers  of  his  mind,  in  sift- 


Obscure  Faith,  145 

ing  the  proofs,  on  which  the  doctrine  is  esta- 
blished. The  one  expects  that  the  Saviour  should 
present  himself  to  him  and  say,  Be  not  faithless^  hut 
believing,  John  xx.  27.  The  other  goes  forth  seek- 
ing after  the  Lord  Jesus,  through  the  darkness  in 
which  he  is  pleased  to  involve  himself.  Is  it  not 
evident  that  this  last  expresses  incomparably  greater 
love  for  the  truth,  and  offers  up  to  it  greater  sacri- 
fices than  the  first  ?  This  last,  then  corresponds  bet- 
ter to  the  idea  of  probation  and  sacrifice,  to  which 
wx  are  called,  during  the  time  which,  by  the  will  of 
God,  we  are  destined  to  pass  in  this  world.  Blessed 
therefore,  with  respect  to  the  obscurity  of  the  past, 
blessed  is  he  who  has  not  seen,  and  yet  has  believed, 

2.  The  same  principle  is  applicable  to  what  con- 
perns  the  night  of  futurity.  It  would  require  but 
feeble  efforts,  and  would  exhibit  no  mighty  sacri- 
fice, for  a  man  to  deny  himself  the  delights  of  a  pre- 
sent fife,  if  the  joys  of  the  paradise  of  God  were  dis- 
closed to  his  eyes. 

But  how  great  is  the  magnanimity  of  the  Chris- 
tian, how  wonderful  the  fortitude  of  the  martyr, 
and,  in  propriety  of  speech,  all  Christians  are  mar- 
tyrs, who,  resting  on  the  promises  of  God  alone,  im- 
molates to  the  desire  of  possessing  a  future  and  hea- 
venly felicity,  all  that  is  dear  and  valuable  to  him: 
upon  the  earth  ?  The  present,  usually,  makes  the 
most  powerful  impression  on  the  mind  of  man.  An 
object,  in  proportion  as  it  becomes  exceedingly  re- 
mote, in  some  measure  loses  its  reality  with  respect 
to  us.  The  impression  made  upon  the  mind  by  sen- 
sible things  engrosses  almost  its  whole  capacity,  and 
leaves  little,  if  any  portion,  of  its  attention,  for  the 
contemplation  of  abstract  truths.  Farther,  when 
abstract  meditations  dwell  on  well-known  objects, 
they  possibly  may  fix  attention.     But  when  they 

VOL.  VI.  L  turn 


1 46  Obscure  Faith 

turn  on  objects  of  which  we  have  no  distinct  idea^ 
they  are  httle  calculated  to  arrest  and  impress. 

A  Christian,  a  man  actuated  by  that  obscure  faith, 
-whoss   excellency   we   are  endeavouring  to   unfold, 
surmounts  all   these  difficulties.     I  see   neither  the 
God  who  has  given  me  the  promises  of  an  eternal  fe- 
licity ;  nor  that  eternal  felicity  which  he  hath  pro- 
mised me.      This  God    conceals  himself  from  my 
view.     I  must  go  from   principle  to   principle,  and 
from  one  conclusion  to  another,  in  order  to  attain 
full  assurance  that  he  is.     I  find  still  much  greater 
difficulty  in  acquiring  the  knowledge  of  what  he  is, 
than  in  rising  up  to  a  persuasion  of  his  existence. 
The  very  idea  of  an  infinite  Being  confounds  and 
overwhelms  me.     If  I  have  only  a  very  imperfect 
idea  of  the  God  who  hath  promised  me  eternal  feli- 
city, I  know  still  less  wherein  that  feficity  consists. 

I  am  told  of  a  spiritual  body,  1  Cor.  xv.  44.  :  a 
body  glorious,  incorruptible :  I  am  told  of  unknown 
faculties :  of  an  unknown  state  ;  of  an  unknown 
economy  :  I  am  told  of  new  heavens  and  a  new  earth  / 
I  am  promised  the  society  of  certain  spirits,  with 
whom  1  have  never  enjoyed  any  kind  of  intercourse  ; 
I  am  told  of  a  place  entirely  different  from  that 
•which  I  now  inhabit ;  and  when  I  would  represent  to 
myself  that  felicity,  under  ideas  of  the  pleasures  of 
sense,  under  ideas  of  worldly  magnificence,  I  am 
told  that  this  felicity  has  no  resemblance  to  any  of 
these  things.  Nevertheless,  on  the  word  of  this  God, 
of  whom  1  have  a  knowledge  so  very  imperfect,  but 
whose  existence  and  perfections  are  so  certain,  I  am 
ready  to  sacrifice  every  thing,  for  a  felicity  of  which 
I  have  a  still  more  imperfect  knowledge  than  I  have 
of  the  God  who  hath  promised  it  to  me. 

There  is  nothing  more  delightful  to  me,  than  to 

live 


Obscure  FcdtJi,  147 

live  in  the  bosom  of  my  country  and  kindred  :  my 
native  air  has  in  it,  something  congenial  to  my  con- 
stitution ;  nevertheless,  were  God  to  call  me  as  he 
did  Abraham  ;  were  he  to  say  to  me  in  the  Vv'ords 
which  he  addressed  to  that  palriarch  :  "  Get  ihee  out 
of  thy  country,  and  from  thy  kindred,  and  from  thy 
father's  house,'*  Gen.  xii.  1.  1  will,  without  hesita- 
tion, obey :  I  will  depart,  without  delay,  for  the  land 
which  he  shall  please  to  sheio  me. 

Nothing  can  be  more  delightful  to  me,  than  the 
possession  of  an  only  and  beloved  son  :  nothing  ap- 
pears to  me  so  dreadful,  as  separation  from  a  person 
so  dear  to  me;  but,  above  all,  there  is  iiolhing 
which  inspires  so  much  horror,  as  the  thought  of 
plunging,  with  my  own  hand,  the  dagger  into  his 
bowels.  Nevertheless,  when  it  shall  please  God  to 
say  to  me,  "  Take  now  thy  son.  thine  only  son,  whom 
thou  lovest,  and  offer  him  for  a  burnt-otlering,.  upon 
one  of  the  mountains  which  I  will  tell  thee  of,"  Gen. 
xxii.  2.  I  will  take  that  son,  that  object  of  my  ten- 
derest  affection,  that  centre  of  my  desires,  and  of  my 
complacency  ;  I  will  bind  him  ;  I  will  stretch  him 
out  upon  the  pile;  I  will  lift  up  my  arm  to  pierce 
his  side,  persuaded  that  the  favour  of  God  is  a  bless- 
ing, beyond  all  comparison,  more  precious  th  m  the 
possession  of  even  that  beloved  portion  of  myself. 

There  is  nothing  capable  of  more  agreeably  flat- 
tering my  ambition  and  selt-love,  than  to  talk  with 
authority  ;  than  to  govern  a  whole  world  with  despo- 
tic sway  ;  than  to  rule  over  the  nations,  vx'hich  look 
up  to  their  sovereigns  as  to  so  many  divinities;  ne- 
vertheless, were  a  competition  to  be  established  be- 
tween a  throne,  a  crown,  and  the  blessedness  of  the 
heavenly  world,  I  would  estecin  the  repr mch  of  C/rnst 
piv eater  riches  than  the  treasures  in  Eg'.jpt :  I  would 
f'hoose  rather  to  suffer  ajjliction  w'dh  the  people  of  God, 

2  than 


14?>  Obscure  Faith 

than  to  enjoy  the  pleasures  of  sin  for  a  season^  Heb.  xi. 

There  is  nothing  to  which  my  nature  is  more  re- 
luctant, than  the  suffering  of  violent  pain.  The  idea 
of  the  rack,  of  being  burnt  at  a  stake,  makes  me 
shudder.  I  am  convulsed  all  over  at  sight  of  a  fel- 
low-creature exposed  to  torture  of  this  kind.  What 
would  it  be,  were  I  myself  called  to  endure  them  ? 
Nevertheless,  the  lofty  ideas  I  have  conceived  of  a 
felicity  which  I  have  not  seen,  will  elevate  even  me, 
above  the  feehngs  of  sense  and  nature  :  I  will  mount 
a  scaffold  ;  1  will  extend  myself  upon  the  pile  which 
is  to  reduce  me  to  ashes :  I  will  surrender  my  body 
to  the  executioners  to  be  mangled  ;  and  amidst  all 
these  torments,  I  will  still  cry  out  with  triumph,  *'  I 
reckon  that  the  sufferings  of  this  present  time  are  not 
werthy  to  be  compared  with  the  glory  which  shall 
be  revealed  in  us,"  Rom.  viii.  18.  *'  for  our  light  af- 
fliction, which  is  but  for  a  moment,  worketh  for  us  a 
far  more  exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of  glory,'* 
2  Cor.  iv.  17.  "  Blessed  be  the  Lord,  ray  strength, 
which  teacheth  my  hands  to  war,  and  my  fingers  to 
light,"  Ps.  cxliv.  1. 

I  ask,  my  brethren,  does  not  a  man  in  such  cir- 
cumstances, correspond  incomparably  better  to  the 
idea  of  probation  and  sacrifice,  than  the  person  who 
should  behold  with  his  own  eyes,  the  eternal  recom- 
pence  of  reward  which  God  has  prepared  for  his 
children  ?  The  proposition  of  our  blessed  Lord, 
therefore,  is  verified  with  regard  to  periods  still  fu- 
ture, as  with  regard  to  periods  already  past.  The 
vocation  of  the  Christian,  then,  is  to  pierce  through 
all  those  clouds,  in  which  God  has  been  pleased  to 
envelop  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ :  the  vocation 
of  the  Christian  is  to  pierce  through  the  obscurity 
of  the  past,  and  the  obscurity  of  the  future  ;  it  is 
\Q  make  study  to  supply  the  want  of  experience,  and 

hope 


Obscure  Faith.  149 

hope  the  want  of  vision.  The  felicity  of  the  Chris- 
tian depends  on  the  manner  in  which  he  corresponds 
to  this  high  vocation  :  ThomaSy  because  thou  hast  seen 
me,  thou  hast  believed :  blessed  are  they  that  have  not 
seen,  and  yet  have  believed.  This  was  the  point  to  be 
demonstrated. 

It  highly  concerns  us,  my  brethren,  to  fulfil  this 
twofold  engagement,  and  thus  to  attain,  at  length, 
supreme  felicity,  in  the  way  which  it  has  pleased  God 
to  trace  for  us.     Let  us, 

1.  Pierce  through  the  obscurity  of  the  past.  Let 
us  learn  to  make  study  supply  the  want  of  experi- 
ence. Let  us  diligently  apply  ourselves  to  acquire 
the  knowledge  of  our  rehgioo,  by  seeking  after  assu- 
rance of  the  truth  of  those  facts,  on  which  it  is 
established.  Of  these,  the  resurrection  of  Jesus 
Christ  is  one  of  the  chief:  for  if  Christ  he  not  risen, 
then  is  our  preaching  vain,  and  your  faith  is  also  vain, 

ye  are  yet  in  your  sins,  1   Cor.    xv.  14,    17. 

But  thanks  be  to  God,  this  fact,  of  such  capital  im- 
portance, is  supported  by  proofs  which  it  is  impossi- 
ble for  any  reasonable  man  to  resist. 

But  it  requires  a  considerable  degree  of  attention, 
of  serious  recollection,  to  study  these  with  edvan- 
tage.  To  this  study  there  must,  of  necessity,  be  sa- 
crificed some  worldly  employment,  ^ome  party  of 
pleasure  :  a  man  must  sometimes  retire  into  his  clo- 
set, and  get  the  better  of  that  languor  which  deep 
thought,  and  close  reading  naturally  produce.  But, 
O  how  nobly  is  he  rewarded  for  all  his  labour,  by 
the  copious  harvest  which  it  yields !  What  dehght 
in  discovering  that  God  has  proportioned  the  weight 
of  the  proofs  by  which  his  religion  is  supported,  to 
the  importance  of  each  of  its  parts !  What  consola- 
tion to  see  that  this  truth,  Jesus  Christ  is  risen,  this 
truth  which  gives  us  the  assurance  that  God  has  ac- 
cepted 


r 


ISO  Obscm^e  Faith, 

cepted  the  sacrifice  of  his  Son,  that  the  work  of  our 
salvation  is  accomphshed,  that  access  to  the  throne 
of  grace  is  opened  to  us,  that  the  disorders  intro- 
duced by  sin  are  repaired  I  What  consolation  to  see 
that  a  truth  of  such  high  importance  is  so  completely 
ascertained,  and  that  so  many  presumptions,  so 
many  proofs,  so  many  demonstrations  concur  in  esta- 
blishing it ! 

What  satisfaction  is  it,  thus  to  transport  ourselves, 
in  thought,  into  the  apostolic  ages,  there  to  con- 
template the  v^'onders  of  redemption  I  For  this  is 
the  effect  which  study  produces,  of  those  exquisitely 
conclusive  and  irresistible  proofs  which  demon- 
strate the  truth  of  this  great  event :  it  transports  us 
into  the  apostolic  ages ;  it  enables  us  to  behold  with 
the  mind's  eye  what  we  cannot  behold  with  the 
eyes  of  the  body.-  -After  having  thus  torn  up  incre- 
duhty  by  the  roots,  with ;  what  an  extasy  of  holy 
delight  may  the  Christian  approach  the  table  of  the 
Lord,  with  full  conviction  of  soul,  and  say  to  him 
with  Thomas :  "  Mij  Lord  and  my  Ood.  The  heart- 
"  affecting  persuasion  I  have  of  what  thy  love  has 
"  done  for  me,  elevates,  penetrates,  overwhelms 
"  me.  It  will  render  easy  to  me  the  most  painful 
"  proofs  which  it  may  please  thee  to  prescribe  to  my 
"  gratitude.  Mtj  Lord  and  my  God^  my  Lord  and  my 
"  God,  I  regret  all  the  time  I  have  devoted  to  the 
"  world  and  its  pleasures  :  henceforw^ard  I  will 
"  think  of  thee,  and  thee  only  :  1  will  live  to  thee, 
"  and  thee  only.  Accept  the  dedication  which  I 
**  now^  make.  Bear  with  the  weakness  in  which  it 
"  is  made  :  approve  the  sincerity  with  which  I  this 
"  day  come  to  break  off  the  remaining  attachments 
*'  which  fetter  me  down  to  the  w^orld  ;  and  to  bind 
^'  closer  those  of  my  ccmim union  with  thee,  the  only 
^^  ¥/orthy  object  of  love  and  desire." 

Ho^v 


Obscure  Faiths  15\ 

How  blessed  shall  we  be,  my  beloved  brethren,  in 
thus  penetrating  through  the  obscurity  of  the  past  I 
Blessed  me  theij  who  have  not  seen^  and  yet  have  be- 
lieved, 

f .  But  let  us  likewise  penetrate  through  the  dark- 
ness of  futurity.  Let  hope  supply  to  us  the  want  of 
possession.  How  shall  it,  henceforth,  be  possible  for 
us  to  entertain  suspicion  against  ihe  iaitlifalness  of 
God's  promises  ?  Behold  on  that  table  what  God  is 
capable  of  doing  in  our  behalf.  Behold  by  what 
miracles  of  love — O  miracles  of  the  love  of  God,  we 
want  language  to  express  tnee,  as  we  want  ideas  to 
conceive  thee  I  but  behold  on  that  table,  behold  hy 
what  miracles  of  love  he  has  prevailed  to  make  us 
the  rich  present  of  his  own  Son,  to  expose  him,  for 
our  sakes,  to  all  that  series  of  suffering  which  has  been 
the  subject  of  our  meditation  during  the  weeks  which 
commemorate  the  passion. 

Is  it  possible  for  us  to  believe  that  a  God  so  gra- 
cious and  so  compassionate  could  have  created  us  to 
render  as  for  ever  miserable  ?  Is  it  possible  to  believe 
that  a  God  so  great,  and  so  munificent  should  Hmit 
his  bounty  toward  us,  to  the  good  things  granted  us 
here  below,  to  that  air  which  we  breathe,  to  the 
light  which  illuminates  this  world,  to  the  aliments 
which  sustain  these  bodies  ?  Nay  is  it  possible  for  us 
to  believe  that  he  should  permit  us  to  remain  long  in 
this  world,  exposed  to  so  many  public  and  private 
calamities :  to  war,  to  famine,  to  mortality,  to  the 
pestilence,  to  sickness,  to  death?  Away  with  sus- 
picions so  injurious  to  the  goodness  of  our  God, 
He  that  spared  not  his  ozcn  Son,  but  delivered  him  up 
for  us  o//,  hozc  shall  he  not  with  him  also  Jreelt/  give  us 
all  things  .^  Rom.  viii.  32.  Let  us  indulge  ourselves 
in  feasting  on  the  ddiciousness  of  this  hope:  let  us 
not   destroy  the  relish  of  it,  by  wallowing  in  the 

pleasures 


162  Obscure  Faiilu 

pleasures  of  sense :  let  us  habituate  ourselves  to  pur- 
sue happiness,  in  a  conviction  of  the  felicity  prepared 
for  us  in  another  world. 

This  hope,  it  is  true,  replenished  as  it  is  with 
such  unspeakable  sweetness,  is  not  without  a  mixture 
of  bitterness.  It  is  a  hard  thing  to  be  enabled  to 
form  such  transporting  ideas  of  a  felicity  placed  still 
so  far  beyond  our  reach.  Hope  deferred  inaketh  the 
heart  sick,  Pro  v.  xiii.  1^.  But  we  shall  not  be  suf- 
fered to  languish  long.  For  i/et  a  little  while,  and  he 
that  shall  come  will  come,  and  will  not  tarry,  Heb. 
X.  37,  Yet  a  few  short  moments  more,  and  our 
great  deliverer,  Death,  will  come  to  our  relief. 
Let  us  not  stand  aghast  at  his  approach.  It  is  not 
becoming  in  Christians,  who  cannot  attain  the  per- 
fection of  happiness  till  after  death,  to  be  still  afraid 
of  dying.  Let  us,  on  the  contrary,  anticipate  the 
hour  pf  death,  by  the  exercise  of  a  holy  ardour  and 
zeal.  Let  us  look  for  it  with  a  submissive  impa- 
tience :  Having  a  desire  to  depart,  and  to  be  with  Chtist^ 
zvhich  is  far  Setter,  (Phil.  i.  23.)  than  any  thing  we  can 
possibly  enjoy  in  this  valley  of  tears.  He  who  testis 
Jieth  these  things,  saith.  Surely  I  come  quickly :  let  us 
cry  out,  in  return,  "  Amen.  Even  so,  come,  Lord 
*'  Jesus,  Rev.  xxii.  20.  Come,  Redeemer  of  my  soul : 
*'  I  adore  thee  amidst  the  clouds  in  which  thou  con- 
"  cealest  thyself;  but  vouchsafe  to  scatter  them. 
**  After  I  have  enjoyed  the  felicity  of  believing, 
"  without  having  seen,  let  me  likewise  have  the  fe- 
^'  licity  of  seeing  and  believing.  Let  me  see  with 
"  my  eyes  him  whom  my  soul  loreth  :  let  me  con- 
«*  template  that  sacred  side,  from  whence  issue  so 
*'  many  streams  of  life  for  the  wretched  posterity  of 
"  Adam  :  let  me  admire  that  sacred  body  which  is 
**  the  redemption  of  a  lost  world  :  let  me  embrace 
*'  that  Jesus,  who  gave  himself  fpr  me  ;  and  let  me 

"behold 


Obscure  Fabh  153 

"  behold  him,   never,  never  to  lose  sight  of  him 
*^  more." 

God,  of  his  infinite  mercy,  grant  us  all  this  grace* 
To  him  be  glory  for  ever.    Amen. 


SERMON 


SERMON    X. 

The  Believer  exalted  together  with  Jesus  Christ. 


Ephesians  ii.  4,  5,  6. 

God  xcho  is  rich  in  mercy,  for  his  great  love  wherewith 
he  loved  us,  even  when  we  were  dead  in  sins^  hath 
quickened  u^  together  imth  Christ,  {bif  grace  ye  are 
saved')  and  hath  raised  us  up  together,  and  made  us 
sit  together  in  heavenly  places  in  Christ  Jesus. 

ON  studying  the  history  of  the  lives  of  those  emi- 
nent saints  of  God,  whose  memory  Scripture 
hath  transmitted  to  us,  we  can  with  difficulty  re- 
frain from  deploring  the  extreme  difference  which 
God  has  been  pleased  to  make  between  their  privi- 
leges and  ours.  Nay,  we  are  sometimes  disposed  to 
flatter  ourselves,  that  if  these  privileges  had  been 
equal,  our  attainments  in  virtue  might  have  made  a 
nearer  approach  to  those  which  have  rendered  them 
so  respectable  in  the  church.  Who  would  not  sur- 
mount the  difficulties  of  the  most  painful  career,  if 
he  were  to  enjoy,  like  Moses,  intimate  communica- 
tions with  Deity ;  if  his  eyes  were  strengthened  to 
behold  that  awful  majesty  which  God  displayed  on 

mount 


1 56  The  Believer  exalted  together 

mount  Sinai  ?  Who  could  retain  the  slightest  sha- 
dow  of  incredulity,  and  who  would  not  be  animated 
to  carry  the  gospel  of  Christ  to  the  uttermost  boun- 
daries of  the  globe,  had  he,  like  Thomas,  seen  the 
Lord  Jesus  after  his  resurrection  ;  had  Jesus  Christ 
said  to  him,  as  he  said  to  that  apostle  :  "  Reach  hither 
thy  finger,  and  behold  my  hands :  and  reach  hither 
thy  hand,  and  thrust  it  into  my  side  :  and  be  not 
faithless  but  believing,"  John  xx.  27.  Who  could 
remain  still  swallowed  up  of  the  world,  had  he  seen, 
with  the  three  disciples,  Jesus  Christ  transfigured  on 
the  holy  mount ;  or  had  he  been,  with  St  Paul, 
"  caught  up  to  the  third  heaven,  and  heard  unspeak- 
able words,  which  it  is  not  lawful  for  a  man  to  utter  ?" 
S  Cor.  xii.  2,  4. 

I  have  no  intention,  my  brethren,  to  enquire  how 
far  this  conception  may  be  illusory,  and  how  far  it 
may  be  founded  in  truth :  but  I  wish  you  attentively 
to  listen  to  the  declaration  made  by  the  apostle,  in 
the  words  of  my  text.  They  stand  in  connection 
with  the  last  verses  of  the  preceding  chapter.  St 
Paul  had  advanced,  not  only  that  God  bestows  on 
every  believer,  the  same  privileges  in  substance, 
which  he  has  vouchsafed  to  saints  of  the  first  order, 
but  that  he  actually  works  in  them  the  same  wonders 
which  he  operated  in  Jesus  Christ  when  he  restored 
to  him  that  life  which  he  had  laid  down  for  the  salva- 
tion of  mankind,  and  when,  amidst  the  acclamations 
of  the  church  triumphant,  he  received  him  into  pa- 
radise. 

In  the  text,  our  apostle  expresses  in  detail,  what 
he  had  before  proposed  in  more  general  terms.  He 
says,  that  as  Jesus  Christ,  when  dead,  v/as  restored 
to  life,  and  raised  from  the  tomb  ;  in  like  manner 
we,  who  icere  dead  m  trespasses  and  sins^  have  been 
quickened^   and  raised  np^  together  with   him  :    and 

thur 


with  Jesus  Christ,  157 

that  as  Jesus  Christ,  when  raised  up  from  the  dead, 
was  received  into  heaven,  and  seated  on  his  Father^s 
right  hand,  in  hke  manner  we,  after  our  spiritual  re- 
surrection, are  admitted  to  a  participation  of  the 
same  glory.  Let  us  view  these  two  texts  in  their 
connection,  in  order  to  comprehend  the  full  extent 
of  the  apostle's  idea :  God,  as  we  read  in  the  conclu- 
sion of  the  preceding  chapter,  the  "  God  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  the  Father  of  glory,  has  displayed  what 
is  the  greatness  of  his  power  to  us- ward  who  believe,  ac- 
cording to  the  working  of  his  mighty  power ;  which 
he  wrought  in  Christ,  when  he  raised  him  from  the 
dead,  and  set  him  at  his  own  right  hand  in  the  hea- 
venly places,. . .  .and  put  all  things  under  his  feet." 
And  in  the  words  of  the  text,  "  God  who  is  rich  in 
mercy,  for  his  great  love  wherewith  he  loved  us,  even 
when  we  were  dead  in  sins,  hath  quickened  us  to- 
gether with  Christ,  (by  grace  ye  are  saved)  and  hath 
raised  us  up  together,  and  made  us  sit  together  in  hea- 
venly places  in  Christ  Jesus,"  Eph.  ii.  4,  .5,  6. 

This  proposition,  1  acknowledge,  seems  to  pre- 
sent something  hyperbolical,  which  it  is  not  easy  to 
reconcile  to  the  strictness  of  truth :  but  the  difficul- 
ties which  prevent  our  comprehending  it,  do  not  so 
much  affect  the  understanding  as  the  heart.  It 
would  be  much  more  intelligible,  were  the  love  of 
the  creature  .less  predominant  in  us,  and  did  it  less 
encroach  upon  the  feelings  necessary  to  our  percep- 
tion of  a  truth,  which  is  almost  altogether  a  truth  of 
feeling.  We  should  accordingly,  have  been  cau- 
tious how  we  ventured  to  treat  such  a  subject,  at  our 
ordinary  seasons  of  devotion  ;  but,  on  this  day,  we 
believe  all  things  possible  to  your  pious  affections. 
We  believe  that  there  can  be  nothing  too  tender,  no- 
thing too  highly  superior  to  sense,  on  a  solemnity  *, 

when 

*  Ascension  Day. 


\6S  The  Believer  exalted  ios^ether 


when  it  is  to  be  presumed  that,  with  the  apostle?, 
you  are  looking  stedfastlij  toxtard  heaven,  after  an 
ascending  Saviour,  that  you  are  following  him  with 
heart  and  mind,  and  saying,  Draio  us.  Lord,  zve  zall 
run  after  thee. 

Before  we  enter  farther  into  our  subject,  there  are 
a  few  advices  which  we  would  beg  leave  to  suggest, 
which  may  pre- dispose  you  more  clearly  to  compre- 
hend it. 

1.  Learn  to  distinguish  the  degrees  of  that  disposi- 
tion of  mind,  which  our  apostle  is  describing.  He 
represents  the  Christian  as  a  man  on  whose  heart 
divine  grace  has  made  impressions  so  lively,  that  he 
is  already  quickened,  already  raised  up,  already  made  to 
sit  in  heavenhf  places  in  Christ  yesiis.  This  disposition, 
in  whatever  it  may  consist,  (which  we  shall  endea- 
vour presently  to  explain  with  greater  precision) 
this  disposition  admits  of  degrees  ;  I  mean  to  say, 
that  it  is  possible  to  be  a  Christian  not  only  in  name, 
and  by  profession,  but  a  Christian  in  truth  and  reali- 
ty, without  having  as  yet  attained  it  in  the  most  emi- 
nent degree,  jt  was  necessary  to  make  this  observa- 
tion, by  way  of  prevention  of  a  mental  malady,  as 
commonly  to  be  met  with  in  these  provinces  as  any 
where  else. 

Certain  circumstances  peculiar  to  yourselves,  have 
constrained  your  preachers  frequently  to  inculcate  the 
doctrine  of  the  efficacy  of  divine  grace,  and  of 
the  sentiment  which  it  impresses  on  the  heart.  This 
doctrine  has  sometimes  been  misunderstood.  Some 
have  considered  certain  rapturous  emotions,  excited 
in  the  souls  of  a  few  highly  favoured  Christians,  by 
the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  as  the  essential  cha- 
racter of  Christianity.  It  has  been  erroneoosl}'  sup- 
posed, that  to  be  destitute  of  these  was  to  be  aban- 
doned  of  God.     Hence   have  arisen   those  gloomy 

and 


with  Jesus  Christ.  159 

and  desponding  ideas  which  weak  minds  form  re- 
specting their  own  state,  especially  at  those  seasons 
when  the  Lord's  Supper  is  administered.  The  books 
generally  read,  as  a  preparation  for  participating  in 
this  solemn  service,  tell  us,  that  it  is  at  the  table  of 
the  Lord,  in  a  particular  manner,  the  communicant 
experiences  those  communications  of  the  fulness  of 
joy,  Ps.  xvi.  1 1.  that  joy  unspeakable  and  full  of  glo- 
ry, \  Pet.  i.  8.  that  peace  of  God  which  passeth  all 
understanding,  Phil.  iv.  7.  that  white  stone,  and  in 
the  stone  a  new  name  written,  which  no  man  know- 
eth  saving  he  that  receiveth  it,"  Rev.  ii.  17  that  anti- 
cipated resurrection,  that  heaven  upon  earth. 

What  has  been  written  on  this  subject  is  liable  to 
misconception  on  the  part  of  the  reader,  as  it  may 
have  been  expressed  with  too  much  precision  by  the 
composer  of  such  manuals  of  devotion.  Hence  it 
comes  to  pass,  that  real  Christians,  who,  notwith- 
standing the  imperfection  which  cleaves  to  their  best 
services,  have  most  sincerely  devoted  the  remainder 
of  life  to  God,  are  haunted  with  the  apprehension 
of  having  communicated  unworthily,  because  they 
are  not  conscious  of  having  felt,  at  the  Lord's  ta- 
ble, all  those  effects  of  the  presence  of  the  Holy 
Spirit. 

To  Christians  of  this  description  it  is,  that  I  ad- 
dress my  first  advice.  That  they  distinguish  the  de- 
grees of  that  disposition  of  mind  of  which  our  apos- 
tle speaks  in  the  text.  A  man  may  be  quickened, 
may  be  raised  up,  may  be  made  to  sit  together  with 
Christ  Jesus,  in  heavenly  places,  vvithout  having  all 
the  joy  which  results  from  this  blessed  state.  The 
most  infallible  mark  of  our  being  made  partakers  in 
the  exaltation  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  is  our  striving  in 
good  earnest,  to  fulfil  the  conditions  under  which 
that   participation   is  promised   us.     Let   us   fortify 

2  ourselves 


1 60  The  Believer  exalted  together 

ourselves  in  this  disposition  of  mind,  and  wait  pa- 
tiently till  it  shall  please  God  to  smoothe  the  diffi- 
culties which  we  encounter  in  this  work,  by  the 
pleasure  derived  from  a  consciousness  of  having  sur- 
mounted them  in  part,  and  by  the  assurance  which 
we  have  of  at  length  surmounting  them  altogether. 

2.  The  second  advice  which  I  presume  to  suggest ' 
is  this,  Be  on  your  guard  against  the  love  of  the 
marvellous.     It  is  far  from  being  impossible  that  a 
man  should  confound  the  effects  of  an  imagination 
heated  by  its  ow^n  visionary   workings,   with  those 
which  the  Holy  Spirit  produces  in  a  soul  of  which 
he  has  taken  entire  possession.     A  person  animated 
by  the  Spirit  of  God,  can  easily  distinguish  his  state 
from  that  of  an  enthusiast :  but  the  enthusiast  can- 
not always  distinguish  his  state  from  that  of  one  ani- 
mated by  the  Spirit  of  God.     In  general,  the  road 
of  discussion  is  incomparably  more  sure  and  direct  to 
reach  the  conscience,  and  to  form  a  right  judgment 
of  it,  than  the  road  of  feeling.     I  know  that  there  are 
certain  feelings   superior  to  discussion.     I  know  that 
the  Holy   Spirit   sometimes    diffuses    his    influence 
through  the  soul,  in  such  abundance,  with  so  much 
fervour,  with  so  much  activity,  that  it  is  not  possible 
the  persons  thus  highly  favoured  should  be  ignorant 
that  they  are  the  objects  of  his  tenderest  and  most 
particular  care.    But  in  order  to  our  being  warranted 
to  promise  ourselves  such  communications,  the  prac- 
tice of  piety  must  have  been  carried  farther,  beyond 
all  comparison,    than   is  commonly   the  case  with 
most  of  those  who  flatter  themselves  that  they  have 
been  favoured  with  singular  communications  of  the 
Spirit.     And,  once  more,  the  method  of  discussion 
is  by  much  the  surer,  to  arrive  at  a  true  judgment 
of  the  real  dispositions  of  the  conscience,  than  the 
test  of  feeling ;  in  which  the  temperament,  or  the 

1  imagination 


The  Believer  exalted  together  with  Jesus  Chrmt,    161 

imagination  have  frequently  a  larger  share  than  real 
illumination. 

Weigh  in  the  balance  the  proofs  on  which  the 
ideas  you  have  formed  of  yourselves  are  founded. 
Compare  your  thoughts,  your  words,  your  actions, 
with  the  august  rules  and  decisions  which  God  has 
laid  down  in  his  holy  word.  Regulate  your  hopes 
and  your  fears,  according  to  the  characters  which 
you  may  have  discovered  in  yourselves,  after  you 
have  studied  the  subject  in  this  manner.  So  much 
for  the  second  advice,  which  1  thought  it  of  impor- 
tance to  suggest. 

3.  Permit  me  to  subjoin  a  third.  Under  pre- 
tence of  guarding  against  the  reveries  of  the  enthu- 
siast, and  against  the  love  of  the  marvellous,  pre- 
sume not  to  call  in  question  certain  extraordinary 
operations  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  neglect  not  the 
means  of  obtaining  them.  Dispute  not  with  saints 
of  a  superior  order,  what  they  know  by  experience 
to  be  real.  Presume  not  to  establish  that  measure 
of  grace  which  you  may  have  received,  as  the  stan- 
dard for  determining  that  which  God  is  pleased  to 
grant  to  persons  more  devoted  than  you  are  to  his 
service.  Form  not  your  judgment  from  the  plea- 
sure which  you  may  at  present  derive  from  religion, 
of  that  which  you  may  hereafter  enjoy,  when  re- 
ligion shall  have  acquired  a  more  powerful  influence 
over  your  heart.  Be  not  discouraged  by  the  dryness 
and  discomfort  which  you  may  now  find  in  the  prac- 
tice of  virtue  ;  in  time  you  will  experience  it  to  be 
a  perennial  source  of  delight.  This  is  my  third  ad- 
vice. 

Having  premised  these  necessary  precautions, 
Let  us  attempt  to  justify  the  idea  which  is  here 
given  us  of  the  Christian.  Let  us  place  in  contract, 
the  condition  in  which  he  was,  previous   to  his  be- 

voL.  VI.  M  ins: 


I'o^   The  Believer  exalted  iogethc  r  with  Jesus  CImsi, 

ing  converted  to  Christianit}^  and  that  which  he 
has  attained  in  virtue  of  his  having  become  a  Chris- 
tian. Before  he  embraced  the  rehgion  of  Jesus 
Christ,  he  was  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins.  This  is  a 
figurative  expression,  denoting,  that  sinners  are  as 
incapable  of  themselves,  to  shake  off  the  dominion 
of  sin,  and  the  misery  inseparable  from  it,  as  a  dead 
person  is  to  defend  himself  against  corruption,  and 
to  restore  his  own  life.  But  by  beconfing  a  Chris- 
tian, the  believer  is,  through  tiie  mercy  of  God, 
not  only  set  free  from  the  dominion  of  sin,  but  is 
put  in  possession  of  the  highest  recompence  of  re- 
ward that  justice  ever  bestowed  on  the  most  per- 
fect virtue  which  ever  existed,  namely,  that  of  Jesus 
Christ. 

•if  "never  man  spake  like  this  man,"  John  vii. 
46.  never  man  lived  and  acted  like  this  man.  Ac- 
cordingly, never  was  there  a  man  exalted  to  such  a 
height  of  felicity  and  glory.  Nov/  to  this  very 
lieight  of  felicity  and  glory  the  grace  of  God  exalts 
the  Christian.  How?  In  more  ways  than  we  are 
able  to  indicate,  in  the  time  now  left  us.  I  satisfy 
myself  with  pointing  out  three  of  these.  The  be- 
liever is  '*  quickened,  he  is  raised  up,  he  is  made  to 
sit  together  in  heavenly  places  in  Christ  Jesus.'' 

I.  By  the  proofs  which  assure  him  of  the  exaltation 
of  Jesus  Christo 

ir.  By  the  means  supplied  to  satisfy  him  that  he 
is  fulfilling  the  conditions  under  which  he  may  pro- 
mise himself,  that  he  shall  become  a  partaker  of  that 
exaltation. 

III.  By  the  foretaste  which  he  now  enjoys  of  it 
on  the  earih. 

I.  By  the  proofs  which  assure  him  of  the  exalta- 
tion 


The  Believer  exalted  together  zoiih  Jesus  Christ,   163 

tion  of  Jesus  Christ.  It  is  not  necessary  here  to 
detail  them  in  their  full  extent.  This  has  been  al- 
ready done  on  former  occasions  *.  We  have  shewn 
you,  that,  in  support  of  the  truth  of  the  resurrec- 
tion of  Jesus  Christ,  (and  the  same  reasonings  ap- 
ply, with  nearly  the  same  force,  to  all  the  particu- 
lars of  his  exaltation)  we  have  presumptions, 
proofs,  demonstrations.  But,  as  I  have  just  said, 
it  is  not  necessary  here  to  make  a  minute  recapitula- 
tion. 

But  I  would  wish  to  unfold  under  this  head,  the 
true  causes  which  prevent  those  proofs,  irresistible 
as  they  are,  from  producing,  on  the  mind  of  the 
greater  part  of  Christians,  that  lively  impression 
which  would  justisfy  the  hyperbolical  language  em- 
ployed by  our  apostle.  That  Christians  have  a  con- 
viction as  complete  of  the  truth  of  the  exaltation 
of  Jesus  Christ,  as  if  they  had  been  "quickened," 
as  if  they  had  been  "  raised  up,"  as  if  they  were 
*'  made  to  sit  together  in  heavenly  places  in  Christ 
Jesus.^^  The  following  are  the  principal  causes  of 
this  sore  evil. 

1.  The  proofs  of  the  exaltation  of  Jesus  Christ, 
do  not  produce  impressions  so  lively  as  they  ought, 
from  the  abuse  of  a  distinction  between  mathe- 
matical  evidence^  and  moral  e-cide nee,  A  scruple  in 
point  of  precision,  has  given  rise  to  this  distinc- 
tion. We  call  that  mathematical  evidence ^  which 
is  founded  on  the  clear  idea  of  a  subject.  1  have  a 
clear  idea  of  two  even  numbers.  This  proposition. 
From  the  addition  of  two  even  numbers  there  re- 
sults an  even  number,  is  founded  upon  an  evidence 
which  arises  from  the  clear  idea  of  that  number. 
That    is  called    moral   evidence,   which    is    founded 

2  on 

*  Consult  the  Sermon  on  Chrisfs  Resurrection^  the  eight  of  Vol. 
IT.  of  Mr  Robinson's  Selection,  and  Sermon  V.  of  this  volume,  pae-e 
131,  &c.  '  ^  ^ 


164     The  Believer  exalted  together  imth  Jesus  Christ, 

on  testimony  worthy  of  credit.  I  have,  naturally, 
no  idea  of  the  city  of  Constantinople.  I  can  decide 
the  question  of  its  existence,  only  upon  testimony 
of  a  certain  kind.  This  distinction  is  undoubtedly 
a  real  one.  But  it  is  making  a  strange  abuse  of  it 
to  pretend,  that  what  is  founded  on  the  mr/<?wce  de- 
nominated moral  is  not  so  certain  as  that  which 
is  founded  on  what  is  denominated  mathematical 
evidence.  Two  reasons  persuade  me  of  this,  which 
I  submit  to  your  consideration. 

(i)  It  involves  no  less  contradiction,  that  a  com- 
plex concurrence  of  circumstances  should  unite  with 
respect  to  a  false  testimony,  tlian  that  there  should 
be  falsehood  in  a  consequence  deduced  immediate- 
ly from  the  nature  of  a  subject.  It  involves  no  less 
contradiction  to  affirm,  that  all  the  witnesses,  who 
assure  me  there  is  a  city  called  Constantinople,  have 
agreed  to  impose  upon  me,  that  it  involves  a  contra- 
dicnon  to  alledge,  that  this  proposition  is  illusory, 
From  the  addition  of  two  even  numbers  there  re- 
sults an  even  number. 

(ii)  The  second  reason  is  still  more  forcible.  It 
is  taken  from  the  nature  of  God  himself.  We  have 
mathematical  evidence  for  this,  That  God  cannot 
take  pleasure  in  leading  men  into  error.  But  God 
would  take  pleasure  in  leading  men  into  error,  if 
after  haying  made  the  truth  of  their  religion  to  rest 
on  the  existence  of  certain  facts,  which  are  suscepti- 
ble only  of  proofs  of  fact,  he  had  bestowed  on  ima- 
ginary facts,  the  same  characters  of  truth  which  he 
has  impressed  on  such  as  are  real.  The  truth  of 
our  religion  is  founded  ox\  these  facts  :  Jesus  Christ 
is  risen,  and  has  ascended  into  heaven  :  but  this 
exaltation  is  supported  by  all  the  evidence  of  which 
facts  are  susceptible.  \{  the  exaltation  of  Jesus 
f.,'hrist  is  merely  imaginary,  God  has  permitted  ima- 


ginary 


The  Believer  exalted  together  with  Jesus  Christ,   165 

ginary  facts  to  assume  all  the  evidence  of  real  facts. 
God  therefore,  betrays  him  into  error.  But  we  have 
mathematical  evidence,  that  it  is  impossible  for 
God  to  betray  men  into  error.  It  is  clear,  there- 
fore, as  I  think,  that  moral  evidence,  when  car- 
ried to  a  certain  degree,  ought  to  be  ranked  in  the 
same  class  with  mathematical  evidence.  The 
truth  of  the  resurrection  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  there- 
fore, will  not  produce  the  lively  impressions  which 
we  have  mentioned,  so  long  as  men  abuse,  which  is 
the  case  with  certain  philosophers,  the  distinction 
between  moral  evidence,  and  mathematical  evi- 
dence. 

2.  The  proofs  of  the  exaltation  of  Jesus  Christ 
produce  not  impressions  so  lively  as  they  ought,  be- 
cause the  mind  is  under  the  influence  of  a  preju- 
dice, unworthy  of  a  real  philosopher,  namely,  that 
moral  evidence  changes  its  nature,  according  to 
the  nature  of  the  things  to  which  it  is  applied. 
What  is  demonstration  of  a  fact,  which  is  in  the 
sphere  of  natural  things,  seems  to  cease  to  be  such 
respecting  facts  of  a  supernatural  kind.  A  certain 
species  of  proof  will  be  sufficient  to  demonstrate 
that  Caesar  existed :  and  that  same  species  of  proof 
shall  be  deemed  insufficient  to  ascertain  that  Moses 
existed.  What  a  strange  disposition  of  mind  !  The 
truth  of  a  fact,  which  does  not  in  itself  imply  a  con- 
tradiction depends  not  on  the  nature  of  that  fact^ 
but  on  the  .proofs  by  which  it  is  supported. 

I  am  ready  to  admit,  that  stronger  proof  will  be 
expected,  in  order  to  produce  belief,  of  extraordi- 
nary events,  than  is  necessary  to  establish  the 
truth  of  what  happens  every  day  ;  to  produce  be- 
lief, for  instance,  that  a  great  scholar  is  humble^ 
calls  for  stronger  proof  than  tliat  he  is  vain  ;  to 
produce  belief,  that  a  friend  is  as  taithful  m  ad- 
versity as    he  was  in  prosperity,    than  that  he  is 

3  less. 


166   The  Believer  exalted  to^etlier  ioith  Jesus  Christ, 


'&' 


less  so.  But  what  is  evidence  with  respect  to 
ordinary  facts,  is  likewise  so  with  respect  to  such 
as  are  extraordinary.  What  is  evidence  with  re- 
spect to  natural  things,  is  Hkewise  so  with  respect 
to  such  as  are  supernatural.  Nothing  more  un- 
reasonable can  be  conceived  than  the  disposition  ex- 
pressed by  the  apostle  Thomas.  All  the  members 
of  the  apostolic  college,  unanimously  assure  him 
that  Jesos  Christ  is  risen  from  the  dead.  They 
adduce  this  proof  of  it,  that  they  had  beheld  him 
with  their  own  eyes.  No,  says  he,  "except  1  see 
in  his  hands  the  print  of  the  nails,  and  put  my 
finger  into  the  print  of  the  nails,  and  thrust  my^ 
hand  into  his  side,  I  will  not  believe,'^  John  xx.  25. 
Wherefore  does  that  which  would  have  been  evi- 
dence to  him  on  another  occasion,  cease  to  be  so  on 
this  ?  It  is  because  the  matter  in  question  is  some- 
thing supernatural.  But  the  question  is  not,  whether 
the  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ  be  within  the 
sphere  of  natural  things,  but  whether  it  is  found- 
ed on  proofs  sufficient  to  constitute  satisfying  evi- 
dence. 

3.  The  proofs  of  the  exaltation  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
produce  not  impressions  sufficiently  lively,  because 
the  necessary  discrimination  has  not  been  employ- 
ed in  the  selection  of  those  proofs,  on  which  some 
have  pretended  to  establish  it.  This  remark  has  a 
reference  to  certain  of  tlie  learned,  who  imagined 
that  they  were  rendering  essential  service  to  the 
church,  when  they  multiplied  proofs,  with  an  in- 
discreet zeal,  and  produced  every  thing  which  they 
deemed  favourable  to  the  Christian  religion.  Fraud, 
fair  dealing,  all,  all  appeared  equal  in  their  eyes, 
provided  it  could  contribute  to  this  end.  Wretch- 
ed method  !  Why  was  it  not  confined  to  the  propa- 
gators  of  falsehood  ;  and  why  has  it  been  so  fre- 
quently 


The  Believer  exalted  together  xmfh  Jesus  Christ.     167 

quently  adopted  by  the  partisans  of  truth  !  I  pre- 
tend not  to  determine  whether  there  be  much  so- 
lidity in  the  idea  of  some  who  have  alleged,  that 
the  reason  why  Jesus  Christ  so  strictly  prohibited 
the  demons  to  pubHsh  that  he  was  the  IVies  iah,  was 
an  apprehension  that  a  testimony  borne  to  his  mis- 
sion by  lying  spirits,  might  render  the  truth  of  it 
suspected.  But  1  am  w^ell  assured  that  if  any  thing 
could  have  excited  a  suspicion  in  my  mind  unfa- 
vourable to  the  exaltation  of  the  Son  of  God,  it 
would  have  been  that  medley  of  proofs,  solid  and 
without  foundation,  which  we  find  in  the  writings 
of  certain  ancient  doctors  of  the  church  on  this 
subject.  No  one  will  ever  attain  to  a  complete  con- 
viction of  the  exaltation  of  Jesus  Christ,  so  Jong 
as  he  neglects  to  discriminate  the  proofs  on  which 
the  truth  of  it  rests.  The  discovery  of  the  slightest 
falsehood  in  those  which  we  had  believed  to  be  true, 
will  go  far  toward  invalidating  the  proof  of  those 
which  we  had  good  reason  to  believe  founded  \n 
truth. 

4.  The  proofs  of  the  exaltation  of  Jesus  Christ  pro- 
duce not  impressions  sufficiently  lively,  because  we 
are  too  deeply  affected  by  our  inability  to  resolve 
certain  questions,  wdfich  the  enemies  of  religion  are 
accustomed  to  put,  on  some  circumstances  relative 
to  that  event.  The  evangelists  have  recorded  all 
those  which  are  necessary  to  convince  us  of  the 
truth  of  the  resurrectiori  of  Jesus  Christ.  Their 
silence  respecting  circumstances  of  another  kind> 
and  our  inability  to  satisfy  the  demands  of  those 
who  insist  upon  them,  present  nothing  to  excite 
suspicion  against  the  fidelity  of  their  Narration. 
'J'hey  do  not  tell  us,  for  example,  what  Jesus  Christ 
did  immediately  after  his  resurrection,  and  before 
his  appearing  to   the   devout  women,  and   to  the 

apostles 


168  The  Believer  exalted  together  imth  Jesus  Christ. 

apostles.     They  do  not  tell  us  what  he  did  during 
the  forty  days  which  he  passed  upon  the  earth  be- 
fore his  ascension.     They  do  not   tell  us  to  whom 
those  dead   persons  appeared,  who  came  into  the 
holy  city  to  attest  his  resurrection,  nor  what  became 
of  them  after  their  apparition.     The  Holy  Spirit, 
perhaps,  was   not   pleased   to  reveal    such    things 
to  those  inspired  men.     Perhaps  they  did  not  think 
proper  to   declare  them,  though   they  might  have 
had  perfect  information  on  the  subject.  But  is  there 
any  thing  in  this,  to  invalidate  the  proofs  on  which 
the  truth  of  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ  is  found- 
ed ?  Is  there  any  one  ancient  history,  I  say  any  one 
without  exception,  that  goes  into  a  certain  detail  of 
circumstances?    Are    we  acquainted  with   all    the 
circumstances  of  the  life  of  Alexander,  or  of  Da- 
rius ?  Does  our  ignorance  respecting  such  and  such 
particulars  suggest  a  doubt  whether  those  persons 
ever  existed  ?    Do  we  know  all  the  circumstances 
attending  the  battle  of  Cannae,  and   that  of  Phar- 
salia.      Does    our   ignorance   of  these,    suggest   a 
doubt  whether  such  battles  were  actually  fought  ? 
Is  it  fair  to  prescribe  to   the   sacred  authors  rules 
which  we  readily  dispense  with  in  the  case  of  pro- 
fane authors  ? 

6.  The  proofs  of  the  exaltation  of  Jesus  Christ 
produce  not  impressions  sufficiently  lively,  because 
we  suffer  ourselves  to  be  intimidated  more  than  we 
oughtj  by  the  comparison  instituted  between  them 
and  certain  popular  rumours,  which  have  no  better 
support  than  the  caprice  of  the  persons  who  pro- 
pagate them.  Unbelievers  tell  us  that  the  multi- 
tude is  credulous,  that  it  is  ever  disposed  to  be 
practised  upon  by  imposture,  from  the  idea  of  the 
marvellous.  They  accumulate  all  those  noted  in- 
stances of  credulity  which  ancient  and  modern  his- 
tory 


The  Believer  exalted  together  with  Jesus  Christ,     1 69 

tory  abundantly  supply,  for  it  costs  very  little 
trouble  indeed,  to  make  the  collection  ample.  They 
avail  themselves  of  those  instances  to  invalidate  the 
argument  which  we  adduce  from  the  unanimity  of 
that  testimony  which  evinces  the  truth  of  the  resur- 
rection of  Jesus  Christ.  Bat  let  them  show  us, 
among  what  they  call  "  popular  rumours,'^  let  them 
shew  us  among  these  any  thing  of  the  same  kind 
with  those  which  we  have  produced  :  and  then  we 
shall  feel  ourselves  called  upon  to  defend,  in  another 
way,  the  doctrine  in  question.  But  under  the  pre- 
text that  mankind  is  credulous,  obstinately  to  resist 
the  force  of  proofs  which  have  been  admitted  by 
judges  the  most  rigid  and  acute,  is  wilfully  to  shut 
the  eyes  against  the  truth. 

6.  Finally,  the  proofs  of  the  truth  of  the  exalta- 
tion of  our  blessed  Lord  and  Saviour,  produce  not 
impressions  sufficiently  lively,  because  they  are  not 
sufficiently  known.  The  preceding  particulars  chief- 
ly relate  to  the  learned,  and  the  philosophic  part 
of  mankind,  of  whom  the  number,  undoubtedly,  is 
on  comparison  very  inconsiderable.  This  relates  to 
the  multitude,  of  which  the  far  greater  part  of  our 
audiences  is  composed.  I  am  well  aware  that  those 
proofs  have  been  carried  farther  in  the  present  age, 
than  ever  had  been  done,  perhaps,  since  the  days  of 
the  apostles.  I  have,  oftener  than  once,  adored  the 
conduct  of  divine  Providence,  in  that  the  objec- 
tions of  unbelievers,  of  which  it  may  likewise  be  af- 
firmed, that  they  have  been  carried  farther  in  the 
present  age,  than  they  had  been  since  the  times  of 
the  earliest  antagonists  of  the  Christian  religion  :  I 
have  oftener  than  once,  I  say,  adored  the  conduct 
of  divine  Providence,  in  that  those  objections  have 
furnished  occasion  to  scrutinize  the  proofs  of  the 
facts,  on  which  the  truth  of  Christianity  rest. 

In 


1 70   The  Believer  exalted  iogethet^  with  Jesus  Christ, 

In  proportion  as  events  are  more  remote,  the  more 
difficult  it  becomes  to  ascertain  them.  If  the  spirit 
of  superstition  and  blind  credulity  had  continued 
to  be  the  reigning  folly  of  mankind,  men  would  have 
neglected  to  study  the  proofs  of  the  facts  of  which 
1  have  been  speaking,  and  we  should  have  had  in 
later  ages,  much  greater  trouble  m  demonstrating 
the  truth  of  them.  But  inlidelity  is  the  reigning 
folly  of  the  age  in  which  we  live,  and  has,  as  it 
were,  succeeded  the  spirit  of  superstition  and  blind 
credulity,  the  reigning  folly  of  ages  past.  Now 
Providence  has  so  ordered  the  course  of  tilings,  that 
this  very  infidelity  should  prove  the  occasion  of 
placing,  in  their  clearest  point  of  light,  those  illus- 
trious proofs  which  we  have  of  the  facts,  whereon 
the  Christian  religion  is  founded.  Bat  though  they 
have  been  stated  with  so  much  clearness  and  pre- 
cision, it  is  undoubtedly  certain  that  they  are  not 
hitherto  sufficiently  known  by  the  generality  of  pro- 
fessing Christians. 

Would  you  be  thoroughly  convinced  of  the  exal- 
tation of  the  Saviour  of  mankind,  devote  to  the 
study,  which  I  am  recommending,  a  pare,  I  do  not 
say  onl)^  of  that  time  which  you  so  liberally  bestow 
on  the  world  and  its  pleasures,  but  a  part  of  even 
that  which  you  have  thrown  away  upon  useless  con- 
troversies, on  the  speculative  questions,  and  the 
bold  researches,  with  which  most  books,  on  the  sub- 
ject of  religion,  are  filled.  Let  the  mind  be  deeply 
impressed  with  that  serieiis  of  presumptions,  of  ar- 
guments, of  demonstrations,  of  which  the  resurrec- 
tion, and  the  other  particulars  of  the  exaltation  of 
the  Son  of  God  are  susceptible.  Do  all  dihgence 
to  discern  the  whole  evidence  of  those  facts,  with- 
out which,  to  use  the  Apostle's  expression,  "  your 
faith  is  vain,  and  our  preaching  also  is  vain,"  1  Cor. 
XV.  14*     Then  you  will  perceive,  that  the  truth  of 

the 


The  Believer  exaUed  togciher  laiJi  Jesus  Christ,  I7I 

the  exaltation  of  the  Saviour  is  founded  upon  proofs, 
which  it  is  impossible  for  any  reasonable  man  to  re- 
sist. You  will  be,  in  some  measure,  as  much  con- 
vinced that  he  is  raised  up  from  the  dead,  and  as- 
cended into  heaven,  as  if  you  had  i^een  him  with 
your  own  eyes,  bursting  asunder  the  bars  of  the 
grave,  and  assuming  his  seat  at  the  right  hand  of 
the  Father  :  you  will  be  in  this  first  sense,  ''  quick- 
ened together  with  Christ,  and  raised  up,  and  made 
to  sit  together  in  heavenly  places  with  him*^^ 


SERMON 


SERMON  VI. 

PART  IL 

The  Christian  a  Partaker  in  the  Exaltation 
of  Jesus  Christ > 


Ephesians  ii,  4,  5,  6, 

God  who  is  rich  in  mercy ^  for  his  great  love  wherewith 
he  loved  us,  even  zQ)lien  we  were  dead  in  sins,  hath 
quickened  us  together  with  Christy  (by  grace  ye  are 
saved^  and  hath  raised  us  up  together^  aud  made  us 
sit  together,  in  heavetdij  places  in  Christ  Jesus, 

HAVING  given  a  few  preliminary  advices  rela- 
tive to  my  subject,  I  went  on  to  justify  the 
accuracy  of  the  Apostle's  idea,  by  shewing,  that 
the  Christian  is  ''  quickened,  raised  up-  seated  in 
heavenly  places,  together  with  Christ, 

I.  By  the  reasons  which  persuade  him  of  the  cer- 
tainty 


174?  The  Christian  a  Far  taker  in 

tainty  of  the  exaltation   of  Jesus  Christ.      I   now 
proceed  to  justify  St  FauTs  idea,  by  shewing, 

II.  The  Christian's  participation  in  the  glory  of 
Jesus  Christ,  by  the  means  with  which  he  is  fur- 
nished of  knowiui^  himself,  and  of  attaining  assur- 
ance that  he  is  fuihiiing  the  conditions  under  which 
he  is  enabled  to  promise  himself  an  interest  in  that 
exaltation.  I  do  not  mean  to  insinuate  that  tliis 
knowledge  is  of  easy  attainment.  1  maintain,  on 
the  contrary,  that  it  is  one  of  the  most  difficult 
which  can  be  proposed  to  man.  And  without  en- 
tering here  into  a  detail  of  the  reasons  which  evince 
the  difficulty  of  it,  it  is  sufficient  for  me  to  adduce 
a  single  one  ;  it  is  the  smallness  of  the  number  of 
those  who  know  themselves.  The  judgments  which 
men  form  of  their  own  character  is  an  inexhaustible 
source  of  ridicule.  The  world  is  crow^led  with 
people  totally  blind,  especially  where  they  them- 
selves are  concerned. 

What  illusion  do  they  practise  upon  themselves, 
widi  respect  to  the  bod}-  I  liow  many  are  there 
whom  Nature  has  sadly  degraded  in  point  of  per- 
son :  forms  which  you  would  say  were  only  block- 
ed out,  and  of  which,  if  1  may  use  the  expression, 
God  seems  to  have  erected  only  the  first  scafFold- 
iilgs,  conceive  of  themselves  ideas  directly  opposite 
to  the  truth.  Talk  of  the  corporeal  qualities  of  such 
and  such  persons,  and  they  will  be  among  the  first 
to  make  them  an  object  of  derision,  and  discover 
this  to  be  too  slim,  that  to  be  too  gross  ;  falling- 
foul  of  the  whole  human  race,  and  shewing  tender- 
ness to  no  one  but  themselves.  If  we  are  thus  sub- 
ject to  blindness,  where  things  sensible,  palpable  are 
concerned,  how  much  greater  must  be  the  danger, 
where  matters  of  a  very  different  complecticn  ad- 
dress themselves  to  our  self-love  .'^ 

We 


the  Exaltation  of  Jesus  CJuisi,  17^ 

\7e  practise  illusion  upon  ourselves,  on  the  score 
of  our  understanding.  How  many  ignorant,  dull, 
stupid  people  betray  a  conceit  that  they  are  intelli- 
gent philosophers,  profound  politicians;  that  they 
possess  a  judgment  accurate,  enlightened,  uncom- 
mon ;  and  are  so  powerfully  prepossessed  with  the 
belief  of  this,  that  the  combnied  universe  could  not 
drive  them  out  of  it.  Hence  it  comes  to  pass  that 
they  are  for  ever  taking  the  lead  in  society,  exact- 
ing attention,  courting  admiration,  pronouncing, 
deciding  peremptorily,  and  seeming  to  say  at  every 
turn,  Am  not  a  most  extraordinary  personage?  But 
you  have  never  had  the  advantage  of  a  course  of 
education,  or  of  regular  study.  No  matter  ;  talents 
supply  every  deficiency.  But  no  one  presents  in- 
cense to  you,  yourself  only  excepted.  Still  it  sig- 
nifies nothing  :  it  is  the  wretched  taste  of  the  pre- 
sent age.  Bit  you  are  actually  a  laughing-stock  to 
mankind.  No  nmtter  stiii  ;  it  has  always  been  the 
lot  of  great  men  to  be  the  object  of  envy  and  ca- 
lumny. 

We  practise  illusion  upon  ourselves  in  favour  of 
our  heart.  Should  you  chance  to  be  in  a  circle  of 
slanderers,  and  bear  your  testimony  against  slander, 
the  whole  company  will  instantly  take  your  side. 
The  most  criminal  will  endeavour  to  pass  for  the 
most  innocent.  They  will  tell  you  that  it  is  the 
most  odious,  abominable,  execrable  of  vices.  They 
will  tell  you  that  the  severest  punishments  ought  to 
be  adjudged  against  the  offender,  that  he  ought  to 
be  excluded  from  all  human  society.  And  the  very 
persons  who  are  themselves  actuated  by  this  detest- 
able passion,  who  are  themselves  diffusing  the  bale- 
ful poison  of  their  malignity,  apprehend  not  that 
they  are,  in  the  slightest  degree,  chargeable  with 
such  a  vice.  Have  you  no  knowledge,  my  brethren, 
of  such  a  portrait  ?  Have  I  been  depicting  to  you 
Planners  which  have  no  existence  in  real   life?  If 

2  there 


176  The  Christian  a  Partaker  in 

there  be  any  among  you  incapable  of  discovering 
himself  under  such  similitudes  as  these,  it  is  a  de- 
monstration of  what  1  wished  to  prove,  that  it  is  a 
Yery  difficult  thing  for  a  man  to  know  himself. 

But  though  this  knowledge  be  extremely  difficult, 
it  is  by  no  means  of  impossible  attainment.  The 
believer  employs  two  methods,  principally  to  arrive 
at  it.  1.  He  studies  his  own  heart.  2.  He 
shrinks  not  from  the  inspection  of  the  eyes  of 
another. 

1.  First,  the  believer  studies  his  own  heart.  Let 
it  not  appear  matter  of  astonishment  that  the 
generality  of  mankind  are  so  little  acquainted  with 
themselves.  They  are  almost  always  from  home ; 
external  objects  engross  all  the  powers  of  their 
mind  ;  they  never  dive  to  the  bottom  of  their  own 
conscience.  Does  it  deserve  the  name  of  searching 
the  heart,  if  a  man  employs  a  rapid  and  superficial 
self-examination,  by  reading  a  few  books  of  prepara- 
tion, on  the  eve  of  a  communion-solemnity  :  if  he 
devote  a  few  moments  attention  to  the  maxims  of  a 
preacher,  much  more  with  a  design  to  apply  them 
to  others,  than  to  make  them  a  test  of  his  own  con- 
duct ?  How  is  it  possible,  by  means  of  an  examina- 
tion so  cursory,  to  attain  a  knowledge  which  costs 
the  most  eminent  saints  so  much  application  ? 

A  real  Christian  studies  himself  m  a  very  different 
manner.  With  the  torch  of  the  gospel  in  his  hand, 
he  searches  into  the  most  secret  recesses  of  con- 
science. He  traces  his  actions  up  to  their  real  prin- 
ciples. V/hen  he  has  performed  an  act  of  virtue, 
he  scrupulously  examines  whether  he  had  been  ac- 
tuated by  some  n^erely  human  respect,  or  whether  it 
proccecied  from  a  sacred  regard  to  the  law  of  God. 
When  he  unhappily  is  overtaken,  and  falls  into  sin, 
he  carefully  examines  vvhether  he  was  betrayed  into 

1  it 


The  Exaltation  of  Jesus  Christ.  177 

it  by  surprise,  or  whether,  by  the  prevalence  of 
corruption  in  his  heart,  and  from  the  love  of  the 
world  still  exercising  dominion  over  him.  Whea 
he  abstains  from  certain  vices,  he  examines  whether 
it  proceeded  from  real  self-government,  or  merely 
from  want  of  means  and  opportunity  ;  and  he  asks 
himself  this  question,  What  would  I  have  done,  had 
I  been  placed  in  such  and  such  circumstances  ? 
Would  I  have  preserved  my  innocence,  with  Joseph, 
or  lost  it,  as  David  did  ?  Would  I,  with  Peler,  have 
denied  Jesus  Christ,  or  have  endured  martyrdom  in 
his  cause,  like  Stephen  ? 

2.  The  second  method  which  the  believer  erii- 
ploys  to  arrive  at  the  knowledge  of  his  own  heart,  is 
to  permit  others  to  unveil  it  to  his  eyes  :  this  is  done 
particularly,  either  by  the  public  instructions  of  the 
faithful  ministers  of  the  gospelj  or  by  the  private 
admonitions  of  a  judicious  and  sincere  friend  :  two 
articles  very  much  calculated  to  explain  to  us  the 
reasons  why  most  men  attain  such  an  imperfect 
knowledge  of  themselves^ 

It  is  with  difficulty  Vv^e  can  digest  those  addresses 
from  the  pulpit,  in  v/hich  the  preacher  ventures  to 
go  into  certain  details,  without  w^hich  it  is  impossi- 
ble for  us  to  acquire  self-knowledge*  We  are  fond 
of  dwelling  on  generals.  Our  own  portrait  excites 
disgust,  when  the  resemblance  is  too  exact.  It  is  a 
circumstance  well  worthy  of  being  remarked,  that 
what  we  admire  the  most  in  the  sermons  of  the 
dead,  is  the  very  thing  which  gives  most  offence  in 
the  sermons  of  the  living.  When  we  read,  in  dis- 
courses pronounced  several  ages  ago,  those  bold 
strictures  in  which  the  preachers  unmasked  the  hy- 
pocrites of  their  times,  reproved  the  vices  of  the 
great  as  freely  as  those  of  the  lit  lie,  attacked  adul- 

TOL.  VT.  N  w^'y, 


178  The  Christum  a  Partaker  tn 

tery,  extortion,  a  tyrannical  spirit,  in  the  very  pre- 
sence of  the  offenders,  \^e  are  ready  to  exclaim,  What 
zeal !  What  courage  I  What  firmness  I  But  when  a 
preacher  of  our  own  days  presumes  to  form  himself 
after  such  excellent  models ;  when  he  would  copy  the 
ex  am  pi':  of  Elijah,  who  said  to  Ahab,  1  have  not  troii- 
hied  Israel ;  but  thou  and  thy  father's  house ^  I  Kings 
xviii.  18.  when  he  w^ould  follow  the  example  of  Na- 
than, who  said  to  David,  Thou  art  the  man,  2  Sam. 
xii.  7.  or  that  of  John  Baptist,  who  said  to  Herod,  It 
h  not  lax/ill  for  thee  to  have  ihtj  brother's  zmfe,  Mark 
vi.  18.  then  the  cry  is,  What  audacity  I  What  pre- 
sumption 1  It  would  be  improper,  my  brethren,  to 
extend  any  farther  ray  remarks  on  this  subject  at 
present ;  but  I  may  be  permitted,  at  least,  to  borrow 
the  words  of  Jesus  Christ,  addressed  to  his  disciples ; 
*'  I  have  yet  many  things  to  say  unto  you,  but  ye 
cannot  bear  them  now,"  John  vi.  12. 

If  we  are  unable  to  digest  public  discourses  of 
the  description  which  we  have  been  giving,  much 
less  are  v/e  disposed  to  bear  wath  the  private  admoni- 
tions of  a  judicious  and  sincere  friend,  who  is  so 
faithful  as  to  unveil  to  us  our  own  heart.  What  a 
treasure  is  a  friend,  who  keeps  constantly  in  view,  I 
do  not  say  our  honour  only,  our  reputation,  but 
more  especially  our  duty,  our  conscience,  our 
salvation  I  What  a  treasure  is  a  man,  who  em- 
ploys the  influence  which  he  may  have  over  us, 
only  for  the  purpose  of  undeceiving  us  when  we 
are  in  an  error ;  of  bringing  us  back  when  we  have 
gone  astray  ;  of  assisting  us  to  unravel  and  detect  the 
pretences  which  the  deceitfulness  of  the  human 
heart  uses  to  justify  to  itself  its  wanderings  and  weak- 
nesses I  What  a  treasure  is  a  man,  who  has  the  ho- 
nesty to  say  to  us,  according  as  circumstances  may 
require :  *'  Here  it  w^a's  your  want  of  experience  that 

"  misled 


The  Exaltation  of  Jesus  Christ.  \79 

"  misled  you  ;  there,  it  was  the  prejudice  of  a  fliulty 
"  education :  on  that  occasion  you  was  betrayed, 
"  through  the  seduction  of  those  flatterers,  in  whose 
''  society  you  take  so  much  delight:  on  this,  it  was 
*'  the  too  favourable  opinion  which  you  had  formed 
"  of  yourselves,  which  would  persuade  you,  that 
*'  you  are  ever  sincere  in  your  conversation;  ever 
"  upright  in  your  intentions  3  ever  steady  in  your 
**  friendships  1" 

Nevertheless,  we   usually  look  upon  this  precious 
treasure  not  only  with  disdain,   but  even  with  hor- 
ror.    It  is  sufficient  to  make  us  regard  a  man   with 
an  eye  of  suspicion,  that  he  has  discovered  our  weak 
side.     It  is  sufficient  for  him   to  undertake   to  paint 
us  in  our  true  colours,  to  be  perfectly  odious  to  us.  A 
real  Christian  eniploys  all  the  means  with  which  he 
is  furnished,  to  unveil  his  own  heart  to  himself.     By 
dint  of  study,  he  acquires  the  knowledge  of  him.self. 
, Having  acquired  this  important  knowledge,   he  se- 
riously  and  resolutely  sets  about  personal  reforma- 
tion ;  and  he   makes   progress  in  it.     He  examines 
this  new  state  into  which  divine  grace  has  introduced 
him  ;  and  finding  within   hiniself  the  characters  of  ■ 
Christianity,  he  lays  hold  of  its  promises.     He  be- 
comes assured  of  his  being  in  the  class  of  those  to 
whom  they  are  made.    Andvviiat  is  it  to  possess  such 
assurance  ?  It  is  to  have  an  anticipated  possession  of 
all  the  blessings  which  are  the  object  of  it.     It  is  to 
be  already  quickened,  already  raised  up,  already  made 
to  sit  in  heavenli/  places  together  :cith  Jesus  Christ, 

III.  Finally,  the  believer  is  (juickened^  he  is  raised 
iip^  he  is  made  to  sit  together  in  heaveniu  places,  by 
means  of  the  foretastes  which  he  enjoys  of  his  parti- 
cipation in  the  exaltation  of  the  Saviour  of  the 
world.     Should  any  one  accuse  me.  of  myself  run- 

2  ning 


1 80  The  Christian  a  Partaker  in 

ning  under  this  head,  upon  that  rock  of  the  mar- 
vellous, against  which  I  cautioned  my  hearers,  under 
a  preceding  branch  of  my  discourse,  I  would  re- 
quest his  attention  to  the  following  series  of  propo- 
sitions, which  I  barely  indicate  in  so  many  words. 

1st  Proposition.  God  possesses  a  sovereign  em- 
pire over  all  the  perceptions  of  our  souls ;  he  is  able 
to  excite  in  them  such  as  he  pleases,  either  with  the 
concurrence  of  external  objects,  or  without  that  con- 
currence. 

2d  Proposition.  In  the  order  of  nature,  God 
has  united  the  compendious  road  of  sensation  to  the 
more  circuitous  one  of  reasoning,  for  the  preserva- 
tion of  our  body.  What  is  noxious  to  the  body, 
makes  itself  known  to  us,  not  only  by  a  process  of 
reasoning,  but  by  certain  disagreeable  sensations, 
which  warn  us  to  keep  at  a  distance  from  it.  What- 
ever contributes  to  its  preservation,  makes  itself 
known  by  pleasurable  sensations,  and  thereby  en- 
gages us  to  make  use  of  it. 

3d  Proposition.  It  by  no  means  involves  a  con- 
tradiction, to  say,  that  if  it  was  the  will  of  God,  ir^ 
the  order  of  nature,  that  the  compendious  road  of 
sensation  should  supply  the  more  circuitous  one  of 
reasoning,  he  may  sometimes  be  pleased  to  conform 
to  the  same  economy,  in  the  order  of  grace. 

4th  Proposition.  We  are  assured  not  only  by  rea- 
son, that  God  may  adopt  this  mode  of  proceeding, 
but  scripture  and  experience  teach  us,  that  he  actu- 
ally does  so,  in  the  case  of  certain  Christians  of  a  su- 
perior order. 

I  compare  those  sensations  of  grace  to  the  move- 
ment'^ 


The  Exaltation  of  Jesus  Christ.  181 

iVients  "by  which  the  prophets  were  animated,  and 
which  permitted  them  not  the  power  of  doubting 
whether  or  not  it  was  the  effect  of  the  presence  of 
God  in  their  soul ;  movements  which  produced 
conviction  that  God  intended  to  make  use  of  their 
ministry,  and  constrained  them,  in  many  cases  to 
act  in  contradiction  to  their  own  inclinations.  Ne- 
ver was  mission  more  glorious  than  that  of  Jeremiah. 
Never  was  mission  more  difficult  and  more  burden- 
some. He  was  called  to  open  his  mouth  in  maledic- 
tions, levelled  against  his  fellow  citizens,  and  to  be 
himself  exposed  as  a  butt  to  the  execrations  of  that 
people.  Overwhelmed  under  the  pressure  of  a  mi- 
nistry so  distressful,  he  exclaims,  "  Wo  is  me,  my  mo- 
ther, that  thou  hast  born  me  a  man  of  strife,  and  a 
man  of  contention  to  the  whole  earth,"  chap.  xv.  10. 
He  does  more.  He  forms  the  resolution  of  renoun- 
cing a  ministry  which  has  become  the  bitterness  of 
his  life  :  "  The  word  of  the  Lord  is  made  a  reproach 
unto  me,  and  a  derision  daily  ;  then  I  said,  I  will  not 
make  mention  of  him,  nor  speak  any  more  in  his 
name,"  chap.  xx.  8,  9.  But  God  lays  hold  of  him,  by 
invisible  bonds,  and  which  he  finds  it  impossible  to 
shake  off;  "  the  word  of  the  Lord  is  made  a  reproach 
unto  me,  and  a  derision  daily  ;  then  I  said,  I  will  not 
make  mention  of  him,  nor  speak  any  more  in  his 
name  :  but  his  word  was  in  mine  heart,  as  a  burning 
fire  shut  up  in  my  bones,  and  I  was  weary  with  for- 
bearing, and  I  could  not  stay,"  ver.  9.  "  O  Lord,  thou 
hast  deceived"  (enticed)  "  me,  and  I  was  deceived" 
(enticed)  :  "  thou  art  stronger  than  I,  and  has  pre- 
vailed," ver.  7. 

I  am  persuaded  that  many  among  you  have  expe- 
rienced in  your  vocation,  something  similar  to  what 
the  prophet  experienced  in  his.  I  am  persuaded  that 
many  of  you  have  been  attracted  by  those  irresistible 

bands. 


182  The  Christian  a  Far  taker  in 

bands,  and  have  felt  that  sacred  flame  kindle  in 
your  soul,  which  the  Holy  Spirit  communicates  to 
the  regenerated,  and  which  put  these  words  into  the 
mouths  of  the  disciples,  who  were  travelling  to 
Emmaus,  "  Did  not  our  heart  burn  within  us,  while 
he  talked  with  us  by  the  way,  and  while  he  opened 
to  us  the  scriptures  ?'*  Luke  xxiv.  32. 

Now,  if  you  call  upon  me  to'go  into  a  more  par- 
ticular detail  on  this  subject,  I  will  say  to  you,  that 
however  mysterious  this  operation  of  the  grace  of 
God  may  be ;  Vv^hatever  difficulty  may  appear  in  ex- 
actly ascertaining  the  time  of  its  communication,  it 
is  imparted  to  believers,  in  five  situations  chiefly. 
1.  When  shutting  the  door  of  his  closet,  and  exclud- 
ing the  world  from  his  heart,  the  Christian  enjoys 
communion  with  Deity.  *2.  When  Providence  calls 
him  to  undergo  some  severe  trial.  3.  When  he  has 
been  enabled  to  make  some  noble  and  generous  sa- 
crifice. 4.  When  celebrating  the  sacred  mysteries 
of  redeeming  love.  5.  Finally,  in  the  hour  of  con- 
flict with  tlie  king  of  terrors. 

i.  When  shutting  the  door  of  his  closet,  and  ex- 
cluding the  Vv'orld  from  his  heart,  he  is  admitted  to 
communion  and  fellowship  w'ith  Deity,  in  retire- 
ment and  silence.  There  it  is  that  a  commerce  is 
instituted,  the  charms  of  w^hich  I  should  to  no  pur- 
pose undertake  to  display,  unless  they  were  known 
to  you  by  experience.  There  it  is  that  the  believer 
compensates  to  himself  the  time  of  which  he  has 
been  constrained  to  defraud  his  God  ;  and  there  it  is, 
that  God  compensates  to  the  behever,  the  delights 
of  which  the  commerce  of  ^the  world  has  deprived 
him.  There  it  is  that  the  believer  pours  out  into 
the  bosom  of  his  Father  and  his  God,  the  sorrow 
excited  by  the  recollection  of  his  offences,   and  that 

he 


The  iLxahation  of  Jesus  Christ.  183 

ke  sheds  the  tears  of  a  repentance  which  love  has  en- 
kindled, and  expresses  in  terms  such  as  these : 

''  My  God,  1  know  that  love  is  thy  predominant 
"  character,  and  that  it  cannot  be  thy  will  I  should 
"  perish  :  but  I  am  ashamed  of  my  own  weaknti . ; 
*'  I  am  ashamed  of  the  little  progress  I  have  made  in 
''  religion,  since  the  time  thou  hast  been  pleased  to 
*'  grant  me  a  revelation  of  it.  1  am  ashamed  o  re- 
"  fleet  that  such  an  accumulation  of  benefits  as  :-:.u 
"  hast  conferred  upon  me,  should  have  still  produced 
**  so  slight  an  impression  upon  my  heart." 

And  there  it  is  that  God  wipes  the  tear  from  ne 
believer's  eye,  and  heals  up  the  woimds  of  the  peni- 
tent, saying  unto  him,  "  1,  even  I,  am  he  that  blotteth 
out  thy  transgressions,  for  mine  own  sake,  and  will  not 
remember  thy  sins,*^  Isa.  xliii.  25.  There  it  is  that  the 
behever  avails  himself  of  the  tender  access  which 
God  condescends  to  grant  at  those  precious  moments, 
and  that  conversing  with  him,  "  as  a  man  speaketh 
unto  his  friend,"  Ex.  xxxiii.  11 .  he  asks  him  to  be- 
stow communications  more  endearing,  more  intimate: 
"  Lord,  I  beseech  thee  shew  me  thy  glory ,*'  ver.  18 
"  Lord,  scatter  that  darkness  which  still  veils  thy 
''  perfections  from  my  vievv^  ;  Lord,  dispel  those 
*'  clouds  which  still  intervene  between  me  and  the 
"  light  of  thy  countenance."  There  it  is  that  God 
takes  pleasure  to  gratify  desires  so  nobly  directed  : 
"  Poor  mortals,  how  unrefined,  how  debased  is  your 
"  taste  I  Hov/  much  are  you  to  be  pitied,  with  that 
"  relish  for  the  meagre  delights  of  this  world !"  Is 
there  any  one  that  can  stand  a  comparison  with  that 
which  the  believer  enjoys  in  such  blessed  intercourse 
as  this? 

2.  When  Providence  calls  him  to  encounter  some 
severe  trial.  I  speak  not  here  of  trials  to  which  ap- 
petite prompts  a  man  to  expose  himself,  under  the 

specious 


184?  The  Christian  a  Far  taker  in 

specious  pretext  of  promising  himself  the  glory  of  a 
triumph,  but  in  reality  from  the  fatal  charm  which 
betrays  him  into  defeat.  We  have  no  encourage- 
ment to  expect  divine  support  to  resist  and  over- 
come temptation,  vi'hen  we  rashly  throw  ourselves  in 
the  way  of  it :  He  that  loveth  danger^  saith  the  wise 
man,  shall  perish  therein,  I  speak  of  those  trials 
-which  the  believer  is  called  to  encounter,  either 
from  some  supernatural  interposition,  or  simply  from 
the  duty  imposed  by  his  Christian  vocation.  How 
often  do  they  appear  to  him  so  rude,  as  to  awaken 
despair  of  overcoming?  How  often,  when  aban- 
doned for  a  moment  to  his  frailty,  he  says  within 
himself:  "  No,  I  shall  never  have  the  fortitude  to 
*'  bear  up  under  that  painful  conflict :  no,  it  will  be 
•*  impossible  for  me  to  survive  the  loss  of  that  child, 
"  far  dearer  to  me  than  life  itself:  no,  I  shall  never 
**  be  able  to  fulfil  the  duties  of  the  station  to  which 
«t  Providence  is  calling  me  :  How  can  I  give  my  heart 
**  to  what  1  hate,  and  tear  it  away  from  what  I  love?" 
Christian,  be  of  good  courage.  See  that  thy  resolu- 
tion be  upright  and  sincere,  to  him  that  believeth  all 
ihiTigs  are  possible^  Mark  ix.  23. 

There  are  resources  of  grace  with  which  thou  art 
yet  unacquainted ;  but  which  thou  shalt  know  by 
experience,  if  thou  prayest  for  them,  and  makest  it 
thy  unremitting  and  sincere  endeavour  to  walk  wor- 
thy of  such  exalted  expectations.  God  himself  will 
descend  into  thy  soul  with  rays  of  light,  with  fresh 
supplies  of  strength,  with  impressions  so  lively,  of 
the  promised  recom.pence  of  reward,  that  thou  shalt 
not  feel  the  pains  of  conflict,  and  be  sensible  only  to 
the  pleasure  of  victory  ;  that  thou  shalt  raise  the 
shout  of  victory,  whilst  thou  art  yet  in  the  hottest  of 
the  battle. 

3,   I   said   that   those   transporting   foretastes   are 

communicated 


The  ExaUcUion  of  Jesus  Christ,  1 85 

communicated  to  the  believer,  after  he  has  been 
enabled  to  offer  up  some  noble  and  generous  sacri- 
fice. I  can  conceive  no  transports  once  to  be  com- 
pared with  those  which  Abraham  felt,  on  his  descent 
from  mount  Moriah.  What  conflicts  must  he  have 
undergone  from  the  awful  moment  that  God  de- 
manded his  Isaac  I  What  a  dreadful  portion  of  time, 
I  was  going  to  say,  What  an  eternity  was  the  three 
days  which  passed  between  his  departure  from  his 
habitation,  and  his  arrival  at  the  place  where  this  tre- 
mendous sacrifice  was  to  be  offered  up  I  What  emo- 
tions must  that  question  of  Isaac  have  excited  in  a 
father's  bosom ;  behold  the  jive  and  the  zcood:  bat 
Zi: here  is  the  lamb  for  a  burnt- offering  P  Gen.  xxii.  7- 
Abraham  comes  off  victorious  in  all  these  combats : 
Abraham  binds  his  son  with  cords ;  he  stretches  him 
out  on  the  wooden  pile  ;  he  Hfts  up  his  hand  to 
pierce  the  bosom  of  this  innocent  victim.  God  ar- 
rests his  uplifted  arm.  Abraham  has  done  his  duty  : 
he  carries  back  his  son  with  him  :  What  a  transport 
of  delight  I 

But  this  is  not  all.  W^ill  God  be  outdone  iu  ge- 
nerosity by  Abraham  ?  He  crowns  the  obedience  of 
his  servant ;  he  accumulates  upon  him  new  marks 
of  favour  ;  he  promises  himself  to  immolate  his  own 
Son  for  the  man  who  could  summon  up  the  resolu- 
tion to  devote  his  son  at  God's  command.  This  is, 
according  to  St  Paul,  the  sense  of  those  mysterious 
words  ;  "  By  myself  have  I  sworn,  saith  the  Lord,  for 
because  thou  hast  done  this  thing,  and  hast  not  with- 
held thy  son,  thine  only  son :  that  in  blessing  I  will 
bless  thee,  and  in  multiplying  I  will  multiply  thjj^ 
seed,  as  the  stars  of  the  heaven,  and  as  the  sard  which 
is  upon  the  sea-shore;  ....  and  in  thy  seed  shall  all 
the  nations  of  the  earth   be  blessed,"  GeD.  xxii.  16, 

17, 


186  The  Christian  a  Parialier  in 

17,  IS.  Gal.  iii.  8.     Christians,  true  posterity  of  the 
father  of  believiers,  you  have  a  reward  similar  to  his. 

4.  While  he  is  partaking  in  the  sacred  mysteries 
of  redeeming  love,  likewise,  the  believer  feels  him- 
self ^?^/c/re/2<?i,  raised  up ^  seated^  together  zdth  Jesus 
Christ,  I  cannot  refrain,  however,  from  here  de- 
ploring the  superstition  of  certain  Christians,  which 
mingles  with  this  part  of  our  religious  worship,  and 
from  repeating  one  of  the  advices  which  1  suggested 
at  the  opening  of  this  discourse.  Make  not  the  suc- 
cess of  your  communion  to  depend  on  certain  emo- 
tions, in  which  mechanism  has  much  more  to  do 
than  piety  has.  It  but  too  frequently  happens,  that 
a  man  shall  apprehend  he  has  communicated  wor- 
thily, or  unworthily,  in  proportion  as  he  has  car- 
ried to  a  less  or  greater  length  the  art  of  moving  the 
senses,  and  of  heating  the  imagination,  while  he 
partakes  of  the  Lord's  Supper.  The  touchstone 
by  which  we  ought  to  judge  whether  v/e  brought 
to  the  Lord's  table  the  dispositions  which  he  re- 
quires, is  the  sincerity  with  which  we  have  renewed 
our  baptismal  engagements,  and  the  exertions  which 
we  shall  afterwards  make  punctually  to  fulfil  them. 

It  is  true,  nevertheless,  that  a  participation  of 
the  Sacrament  of  the  Supper  is  one  of  the  situa- 
tions in  which  a  believer  most  frequently  expe- 
riences those  gracious  operations  of  which  our 
apostle  is  speaking  in  the  text.  A  soul,  whose  undi- 
vided attention  the  Holy  Spirit  fixes  on  the  mystery 
of  the  cross  ;  and  on  whom  he  is  pleased  to  impress, 
in  a  lively  manner,  the  great  events  w^hich  the  sym- 
bolical representation  in  the  Eucharist  retraces  on  the 
heart ;  a  soul,  which,  through  grace,  loses  itself  in 
the  abyss  of  that  love  which  God  has  manifested  to- 
ward us  in  Jesus  Christ :    a  soul,  which   has  learned 

t© 


The  Exaltation  of  Jesus  Christ.  1 87 

lO  infer,  from  what  God  has  already  done,  what  is 
still  farther  to  be  expected  from  him  :  a  soul,  which 
feels,  and,  if  I  may  use  the  expression,  which  relishes 
the  conclusiveness  of  this  reasoning,  "  He  that  spared 
not  his  own  Son,  but  dehvered  him  up  for  us  all,  how 
shall  he  not,  with  him,  also  freely  give  us  all  things  ?" 
Rom.  viii.  32.  Is  not  a  soul  in  such  a  state,  already 
*'  quickened,  already  raised  up,  alreadij  seated  in  hea- 
venly places,  together  with  Christ  Jesus  ?" 

5.  But  it  is  particularly  when  the  believer  is  grap- 
pling with  the  king  of  terrors,  that  he  experiences 
those  communications  of  divine  grace,  which  tran- 
sport him  into  another  world,  and  which  verify,  in 
the  most  sublime  of  all  senses,  the  idea  which  the 
apostle  conveys  to  us  of  it,  in  the  words  of  the 
text.  Witness  that  patience  and  submission  under 
sufferings  the  most  acute,  and  that  entire  acquies- 
cence in  the  sovereign  will  of  God  :  ''  I  was  dumb,  I 
opened  not  my  mouth ;  because  thou  didst  it,"  Ps. 
xxxix.  9.  Witness  that  supernatural  detachment 
from  the  world,  which  enables  him  to  resign,  without 
murmuring  and  without  reserve,  all  that  he  was  most 
tenderly  united  to  :  "  henceforth  know  I  no  man  after 
the  flesh,"  2  Cor.  v.  16.  I  have  no  connection  now, 
save  with  that  "  Jesus,  of  whom  the  whole  family  in 
heaven  and  earth  is  named,"  £ph.  iii.  lo.  Witness 
that  immoveable  hope,  in  the  midst  of  universal  de- 
sertion :  "  though  he  slay  me,  yet  will  I  trust  in  him," 
Job  xiii.  ]  .5.  *'  yea,  though  1  walk  through  the  valley 
of  the  shadow  of  death,  1  will  fear  no  evil :  for  thou 
art  with  me,  thy  rod  and  thy  staff  they  comfort  me," 
Psal.  xxiii.  4.  Witness  that  faith  which  pierces 
through  the  clouds,  which  the  devil,  and  hell,  and  the 
world  spread  around  his  bed  of  languishing  :  "  I  know 
whom  I  hive  believed,  and  I  am  persuaded  that  he  is 

able 


IS 8?  The  Christian  a  Partaker  in 

able  to  keep  that  which  I  have  committed  unto  him 
Aday  upon  the  earth.  And  though  after  ray  skin  worms^ 
destroy  this  body,  yet  in  my  flesh  shall  I  see  God ; 
whom  I  shall  see  for  myself,  and  mine  eyes  shall  be- 
hold, and  not  another,"  Job  xix.  25,  26,  27.  ,  Wit- 
ness that  holy  impatience  with  which  he  looks  for- 
ward to  the  moment  of  his  dismission  :  "  I  have  waited 
for  thy  salvation,  O  God,"  Gen.  xHx.  18.  *'  Come, 
Lord  Jesus,  come  quickly,''  Rev.  xxii.  20.  Witness 
those  songs  of  triumph,  amidst  the  very  sharpest  of 
the  conflict :  "  Thanks  be  unto  God,  which  always 
causeth  us  to  triumph  in  Christ,"  2  Cor.  ii.  14. 
*'  Blessed  be  the  Lord,  my  strength,  which  teacheth 
my  hands  to  war,  and  my  fingers  to  fight,"  Ps.  cxliv.  1. 
Witness,  once  more,  those  tender,  those  instruc- 
tive, those  edifying  conversations  which  take  place 
between  the  dying  Christian  and  his  pastor.  The 
pastor  addresses  to  the  dying  person  these  words  on 
the  part  of  God  :  *'  Seek  my  face  ;"  and  the  dying 
behever  replies,  "  Thy  face.  Lord,  will  I  seek,"  Ps. 
xxvii.  8.  The  pastor  says,  "  Behold,  what  manner 
of  love  the  Father  hath  bestowed  upon  thee,"  1  John 
iii.  1 .  and  the  dying  person  replies  ;  "  the  love  of  God 
is  shed  abroad  in  my  heart,  by  the  Holy  Ghost  which 
is  given  unto  me,"  Rom.  v.  5.  The  pastor  says, 
•'  Seek  those  things  which  are  above,  where  Christ 
sitteth  on  the  right  hand  of  God  :"  the  dying  person 
replies,  *'  I  have  a  desire  to  depart  and  to  be  with 
Christ,''  Phil.  i.  23.  "  My  soul  thirsteth  for  God,  for 
the  living  God  ;  When  shall  I  come  and  appear  be- 
fore God  :"  Ps.  xlii.  2.  The  pastor  says,  "  Run  with 
patience  the  race  that  is  set  before  thee,  looking  unto 
Jesus,  the  author  and  finisher  of  thy  faith,''  Heb.  xii. 
i,  2.  The  dying  behever  replies,  "  I  have  fought  a 
good  fight,  I  have  finished  my  course,  I  have  kept 
the  faith.    Henceforth  there  is  laid  up  for  me  a  crown 

against 


The  Eocaltation  of  Jesus  Christ,  1S9 

^against  that  day,"  2  Tim.  i.  12.     "I  know  that  my 

(Redeemer  liveth,  and  lliat  he  shall  stand  at  the  latter 

of  righteousness,"  2  Tim.  iv.  7,  8.     **  Behold,  I  see 

the  heavens  opened,  and  the  Son  of  man  standing  on 

the  right  hand  of  God,"  Acts  vii.  56, 

Such  are  the  wonders  which  the  grace  of  God  dis- 
plays, in  favour  of  those  who  are  in  earnest  to  ob- 
tain it,  and  give  themselves  up  to  its  direction.  And 
such  are  the  treasures,  unhappy  worldlings,  which 
you  are  sacrificing  to  a  transient  v/orld,  and  its  lying 
vanities.  Such  is  the  felicity  which  you  experience, 
which  you  have  already  experienced  in  part,  happy, 
happy  Christians,  whose  condition  is  so  far  preferable 
to  that  of  all  the  rest  of  mankind. 

What  now  remains  for  me  to  do,  after  having  em- 
ployed my  feeble  efforts  to  draw  you  to  God,  by 
aitractions  so  powerful :  v.hat  remains,  but  to  ad- 
dress my  most  fervent  prayers  to  him,  and  to  entreat 
that  he  would  be  pleased  to  make  known  those  pure 
and  exalted  delights,  to  those  w^ho  are,  as  yet,  utte.t 
strangers  to  them  ;  and  that  he  may  powerfully  cop- 
iirm,  even  unto  the  end,  those  to  whom  he  has  al- 
ready graciously  commiunicated  them.  With  this 
we  shall  conclude  the  solemn  business  of  a  day  of 
sacred  rest.  We  are  going,  once  more,  to  lift  up  to 
heaven,  in  your  behalf,  hands  purified  in  the  blood 
of  the  Redeem.er  of  mankind.  Come,  my  beloved 
brethren,  support  these  hands,  should  they  w^i 
heavy  :  perform  for  us  the  service  which  Aaron  and 
Hur  rendered  to  Moses,  as  we  are  attempting  to 
render  the  service  of  a  Moses  unto  you.  Assist  us  in 
moving  the  bovv^els  of  the  God  of  mercy.  And  gra- 
ciously vouchsafe,  blessed  Jesus,  who,  on  the  me-> 
morable  day,  of  which  we  are  now  celebrating  the 
anniversary,  v^txt  made  higher  than  the  heavens;  set 
on  the  right  hand  of  the  throne  of  the  Majestif  in  the 

he(rje?f"< : 


19(3  The  Christian  a  Partaker  in,  &c. 

heavens;  and  who  presentest  unto  God,  in  a  golden 
censer^  the  praijers  of  all  saints :  Vouchsafe,  blessed 
Je«us,  to  give  energy  to  those  which  we  are  about  to 
put  up,  and  to  support  them  by  thy  all-powerful  in- 
tercession.    Amen. 


N.  B.  The  reader  may  here  peruse  the  next  ser- 
mon in  the  series,  that  on  The  Effusion  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  which  is  the  ninth  of  Vol.  II.  o^ 
Mr  Robertson's  selection. 


SERMON  Vli: 

For  a  Communion  Sabbath, 

Malachi  i.  6,  7. 

A  son  honoureih  his  jathet\  and  a  servant  his  master  : 
if'  then  1  he  a  Father,  ivhere  is  mine  honour  ^  and  if 
I  be  a  master,  where  is  mij  fear?  sn'ith  the  Lord  of 
Hosts  unto  jjoif^  O  priests^  that  despise  mij  name. 
And  ye  say.  Wherein  have  zve  despised  thy  name?  Ye 
offer  polluted  bread  upon  mine  altar  ;  and  ye  saij^ 
Wherein  have  we  polluted  thee  P  In  that  ye  saij,  The 
table  of  the  Lord  is  contemptible. 

THOUGH  the  spectacle,  which  the  solemnity  of 
this  day  calls  to  our  recollection,  did  not  di- 
rectly interest  ourselves,  it  would,  nevertheless,  be 
altogether  worthy,  separately  considered,  of  detain- 
ing our  eyes,  and  of  fixing  our  attention.  Men  have 
sometimes  appeared,  who,  finding  their  last  moments 
approaching,  collected  their  family,  summoned  up 
their  remaining  strength,  expressed  a  wish,  in  a  re- 
past of  love  and  benevolence,  to  take  a  last,  a  long 
farewell  of  the  persons  who  were  most  dear  to  them, 
and  to  break  asunder,  by  that  concluding  act  of  so- 
cial attachment,  all  the  remains  of  that  human  af- 
fection which  tied  them  down  to  the  world. 

What  an  object,  my  brethren,  what  a  heart-af- 
fecting object  does  that  man  present,  who,  behold- 
ing himself  on  the  point  of  being  removed  from  all 

those 
?, 


192  For  a  Communion  Sabhatli. 

those  to  whom  he  was  most  tenderly  united,  desires 
to  see  them  all  assembled  together  for  the  last  time, 
and  when  assembled,  addresses  them  in  terms  such  as 
these  !  "  It  was  to  you,  whose  much  loved  society 
"  constituted  the  joy  of  my  life,  it  was  to  you  I  took 
*'  delight  in  disclosing  the  most  secret  emotions  of  my 
*'  soul ;  and  if  it  were  still  possible  for  any  thing  to 
"  call  me  back,  now  that  my  God  is  calling  me 
"  away,  it  would  be  the  inclination  I  feel,  to  pro- 
"  long  the  happy  days  which  we  have  passed  together. 
"  But  though  the  bands  which  unite  us  are  close  and 
"  endeared,  they  must  not  be  everlasting.  It  was  in 
"  the  order  of  human  things,  either  that  you  should 
"  be  called  to  close  my  eyes,  or  that  I  should  be  call- 
''  ed  to  close  your's.  Providence  is  now  declaring 
"  the  supreme  command,  that  I  should  travel  before 
"•  you,  the  way  of  all  the  earth  :  it  was  my  wish,  be- 
"  fore  1  undergo  the  irreversible  decree,  once  more 
''  to  behold  the  persons  Vv^hom  I  have  ever  borne  on 
*'  my  heart,  to  call  to  remembrance  the  sweet  coun- 
"  sel  which  we  have  taken  together,  the  connections 
*'  which  we  have  formed  :  and  thus  too  it  is,  that  I 
''  would  take  leave  of  the  world.  After  having 
"  given  way  for  a  moment,  to  the  expansions  of  my 
"  love  for  you,  I  rise  above  all  the  objects  of  sense  ; 
"  I  am  swallowed  up  of  the  thoughts  which  ought  to 
**  employ  the  soul  of  a  dying  person,  and  I  hasten  to 
**  submit  to  the  will  of  the  sovereign  Disposer  of  life 
*'  and  death." 

Jesus  Christ,  in  the  institution  of  this  holy  ordi- 
nnnce,  is  doing  somewhat  similar  to  the  representa- 
tion now  given.  His  disciples  were  undoubtedly 
his  most  powerful  attachment  to  the  earth.  The 
kind  of  death  which  he  was  about  to  suffer,  de- 
manded the  undivided  attention  of  his  mind;  but 
before  he  plunges  into  that   vast  ocean   of  thought 

which 
3 


For  a  Communion  Sabbath.  19S 

which  was  to  carry  him  through  the  sharp  conflicts 
prepared  for  him,  he  wishes  to  behold  again,  at  his 
table,  those  tender  objects  of  his  affection  :  "  With 
desire,'*  says  he  to  them,  "  I  have  desired  to  eat 
this  passover  with  you  before  I  suffer,''  Luke  xxii. 
15.  Had  I  not  good  reason  for  expressing  myself 
as  I  did  ?  Though  this  spectacle  did  not  directly 
interest  ourselves,  it  would  be  highly  worthy,  con- 
sidered in  itself,  of  detaining  our  eyes,  and  of  fixing 
our  attention. 

But  what  closeness  of  attention,  what  concentra- 
tion of  thought  does  it  not  require  of  us,  if  we  con^ 
sider  it  in  the  great  and  comprehensive  views,  which 
animated  the  Saviour  of  the  world,  when  he  institu- 
ted the  sacrament  of  the  supper  !  Behold  him  pre- 
pared, that  divine  Saviour,  to  finish  the  great  work, 
which  Heaven  has  given  him  to  do.  He  comes  to 
substitute  himself  in  the  room  of  those  victims, 
whose  blood  too  worthless  could  do  nothing  towards 
the  purification  of  guilty  man.  He  comes  to  fulfil 
that  mysterious  prediction  :  "  Sacrifice  and  offering 
thou  didst  not  desire,  mine  ears  hast  thou  opened  : 

Lo,  I  come  :  in  the  volume  of  the  book  it  is 

written  of  me  :  I  delight  to  do  thy  will,  O  my  God  j 
yea,  thy  law  is  within  my  heart,"  Psal.  xl.  6 — 8.  He 
comes  to  deliver  up  himself  to  that  death,  the  very 
approaches  of  which  inspire  the  soul  with  horror, 
and  constrain  him  to  cry  out,  "  Now  is  my  soul 
troubled :  and  what  shall  I  say  ?"  John  xii.  27. 
"  My  soul  is  exceeding  sorrowful,  even  unto  death," 
Matt.  xxvi.  38. 

What  shall  he  do  to  support  himself  in  the  pros- 
pect of  such  tremendous  arrangements  ?  What 
buckler  shall  he  oppose  to  those  envenomed  arrows, 
with  which  he  is  going  to  be  transfixed  ?  Love,  my 
brethren,  formed  the  generous  design  of  the  sacri- 
fice which  he  is  ready  to  offer  up  ;  and  love  will 
carry  him  through  the  arduous  undertaking.  He 
says  to  himself,  That  the   memory  of  this  death 

VOL.  VI*  O  whieb 


194  For  a  Communion  Sabbath. 

which  he  is  going  to  endure,  shall  be  perpetuated 
in  the  churches,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world  ; 
that,  even  to  the  end  of  the  world,  he  shall  be  the 
refuge  of  poor  perishing  sinners.  He  says  to  him- 
self. That  through  the  whole  world  of  believers, 
whom  the  preaching  of  the  gospel  is  going  to  sub- 
due to  his  love  and  obedience,  this  death  shall  be 
celebrated.  He  himself  institutes  the  memorial  of 
it,  and  taking  that  bread  and  that  wine,  the  august 
symbols  of  his  body  broken,  and  of  his  blood  shed, 
he  gives  them  to  his  disciples,  he  says  to  them,  and, 
in  their  person,  to  all  those  who  shall  believe  in 
him,  through  their  word,  "  Take,  eat,  this  is  my 
body  ;  this  is  my  blood  of  the  New  Testament, 
Drink  ye  ail  of  it,"  Matt.  xxvi.  26—28.  "  This  do 
in  remembrance  of  me :  For  as  often  as  ye  eat  this 
bread,  and  drink  this  cup,  ye  do  shew  the  Lord's 
death  till  he  come,"  1  Cor.  xi.  24—26. 

O  shame  to  human  nature  :  O  the  weakness,  shall 
1  call  it?  or  the  hardness  of  the  human  heart !  And 
must  it  needs  be  ;  must  the  sweet  composure  of  this 
holy  exercise,  be  this  day  marred,  by  the  cruel  ap- 
prehension, that  some  among  you  may  be  in  danger 
of  profaning  it,  while  they  celebrate  it?  Must  it  be, 
that  in  inviting  you  to  that  sacred  table,  we  should 
be  checked  by  the  humiliating  reflection,  that  some 
new  Judas  may  be  coming  there  to  receive  the  sen- 
tence of  his  condemnation  ?  It  is  in  the  view  of 
doing  our  utmost,  to  prevent  the  commission  of  a 
crime  so  foul,  and  a  calamity  so  dreadful,  that  we 
wish,  previously  to  our  distributing  unto  you  the 
bread  and  the  wine  which  sovereign  wisdom  has  pre- 
pared for  you,  to  engage  you  in  deep  and  serious  re- 
flection on  the  words  which  have  been  read.  You 
w^ill  be  abundantly  sensible  how  well  they  are 
adapted  to  my  purpose,  wlien  you  shall  have  placed 
yourselves,  in  thought,  in  the  circumstances  where- 
in the  Jews  were  placed,  at  the  time  they  were  ad- 
dressed to  thtni.     With  this  I  oi  en  my  subject. 

The 


S\)7^  a  Communion  Sabbath,  i9i 

The  prophet  Malachi,  whose  voice  God  is  here 
employing  on  a  message  to  his  people,  lived  a  few 
years  after  the  return  from  the  captivity.  He  suc- 
ceeded Haggai  and  Zechariah.  These  two  prophets 
had  been  raised  up^  chiefly  for  the  purpose  of  sti- 
mulating the  Jews  to  undertake  the  rebuilding  of 
the  temple.  Malachi  was  specially  destined  to  urge 
them  to  render  unto  God,  in  that  magnificent  edi- 
fice, a  worship  suitable  to  the  majesty  of  him  to 
whose  service  it  was  consecrated.  The  same  diffi- 
culties, which  the  two  first  of  those  holy  men  had 
to  encounter  in  the  discharge  of  their  ministry,  h^ 
encountered  in  the  exercise  of  hi<^.  What  desire 
more  ardent  could  animate  men,  who  had  lived 
threescore  and  ten  years  without  a  temple,  without 
altars,  without  sacrifices,  without  a  public  worship, 
than  that  of  beholding  in  the  midst  of  them,  those 
gracious  signs  of  the  divine  presence  ?  This  was, 
liowever,  by  no  means  the  object  of  general  ambi- 
tion and  pursuit.  They  looked  to  the  rearing  and 
embellishing  of  their  own  houses,  and  left  to  God 
the  care  of  building  that  which  belonged  to  him; 

We  find  traces  of  this  shameful  history,  in  the' 
prophecies  of  the  two  first  whom  we  named,  parti« 
cularly  in  those  of  Haggai.  There  we  have  dis- 
played, the  excuses  made  by  that  wretched  people, 
to  serve  as  a  colour  to  their  criminal  negligence  % 
"  Thus  speaketh  the  Lord  of  Hosts,  saying,  Thi.? 
people  say,  The  time  is  not  come,  the  time  that 
the  Lord's  house  should  be  built,'*  chap.  i.  2. 
We  have  a  censure  of  this  spirit  and  conduct,  pro- 
portioned to  their  enormity,  in  ver.  4.  "  Ls  it  time 
for  you,  O  ye,  to  dwell  in  your  cieled  houses,  and 
this  house  lie  waste  ?"  But,  what  is  still  more  aw. 
ful,  we  behold  the  tremendous  judfifments,  by  whicli 
God  avenged  himself  of  guilt  so  atrocious,  in  ver. 
9,  10,  11.  "  Ye  looked  for  much,  and^  lo,  it  came 
to  little  ;  and  when  ye  brought  it  home  I  did  blow: 

2  uport 


196  For  a  Communion  Sabbath. 

upon  it.  Why  ?  saith  the  Lord  of  Hosts.  Because 
of  mine  house  that  is  waste,  and  ye  run  every  man 
unto  his  own  house.  Therefore  the  heaven  over 
you  is  stayed  from  dew,  and  the  earth  is  stayed 
from  her  fruit.  And  I  called  for  a  drought  upon 
the  land,  and  upon  the  mountains,  and  upon  the 
corn,  and  upon  the  new  wine,  and  upon  the  oil, 
and  upon  that  which  the  ground  bringeth  forth, 
and  upon  men,  and  upon  cattle,  and  upon  all  the 
labour  of  the  hands." 

How  av/fully  respectable  is  a  preacher,  my  bre- 
thren, when  the  indignation  of  heaven  seconds  his 
voice  !  When  the  pestilence,  mortality,  famine  add 
weight  to  the  threatenings  which  he  denounced  I 
Haggai,  supported  by  this  all-powerful  aid,  at 
length  attained  the  object  of  his  ministry.  The 
Jews  did  that  from  constraint  which  they  ought  to 
have  done  from  a  principle  of  piety  and  zeal :  you 
might  now  see  them  labouring  with  emulous  fer- 
vour, to  raise  the  august  edifice,  and  the  temple 
arose  out  of  its  ruins. 

But  scarcely  was  the  house  of  the  Lord  rebuilt, 
when  they  profaned  the  sanctity  of  the  place,  and 
violated  the  laws  which  were  there  to  be  observed. 
The  observation  of  those  laws  was  burdensome.  It 
required  not  only  great  mental  application  ;  but 
was  likewise  attended  with  very  considerable  ex- 
pence.  The  avarice  of  their  sordid  spirits  made 
them  consider  every  thing  which  they  dedicated  to 
such  purposes,  as  next  to  lost.  They  durst  not,  at 
the  same  time,  venture  entirely  to  shake  off  the 
yoke  of  religion.  They  did  what  men  generally  do, 
when  the  laws  of  God  clash  with  their  inclinations  : 
they  neither  yielded  complete  submission,  nor  dared 
to  avow  open  rebellion.  They  attempted  to  re- 
concile the  dictates  of  their  own  passions  with  the 
commands  of  heaven.  To  comply  with  the  com- 
mands of  heaven,  they  presented  offerings  ;  but  to 

gratify 


For  a  Communion  Sabbath,  197 

gratify  the  cravings  of  passion^  they  presented  of- 
ferings of  little  value. 

This  idea  of  the  circumstances,  in  which  the 
Jews  were,  at  the  time  when  our  prophet  flourished, 
is  one  of  the  best  keys  for  disclosing  the  real  sense 
of  the  words  of  the  text.  If  it  unfolds  not  to  us  the 
whole  extent  of  its  signification,  it  furnishes  at  least 
a  good  general  explication.  Malachi  severely  cen- 
sures the  priests  of  his  day,  that  called,  as  they  were, 
to  maintain  good  order  in  the  church,  they  calmly 
overlooked,  or  avowedly  countenanced  the  open 
violation  of  it.  He  reproaches  them  for  this  mis- 
conduct, by  the  example  of  what  a  son  owes  to  his 
father,  and  a  servant  to  his  master.  He  employs 
this  image,  because  the  priests  were,  in  an  appro- 
priate sense,  considered  as  belonging  unto  God  ;  in 
conformity  to  what  God  himself  says  in  chap.  viii. 
of  the  book  of  Numbers  :  "  Thou  shalt  separate  the 
Levites  from  among  the  children  of  Israel :  and  the 

Levites  shall  be  mine : for  they  are  wholly 

given  unto  me,  from  among  the  children  of  Israel 
.  .  .  .  instead  of  the  first-born  of  all  the  children  of 
Israel,  have  I  taken  them  unto  me  :  .  .  ^  .on  the 
day  that  I  smote  every  first-born  in  the  land  of 
Egypt,  I  sanctified  them  for  myself"  It  is  to  you, 
O  ye  priests,  says  he  to  them,  that  I  address  my- 
self; "  A  son  honoureth  his  father,  and  a  servant 
his  master:  if  then  I  be  a  father,  where  is  mine  ho- 
nour ?  and  if  1  be  a  master,  where  is  my  fear  ?  saith 
the  Lord  of  Hosts  unto  you,  O  priests,  that  despise 
my  name.  And  ye  say.  Wherein  have  we  despised 
thy  name  ?  Ye  offer  polluted  bread  upon  mine  al- 
tar ;  and  ye  say,  Wherein  have  we  polluted  thee  ? 
In  that  ye  say.  The  table  of  the  Lord  is  con- 
temptible." 

If  any  difficulty  still  remain,  respecting  the  ge- 
neral sense  of  tlie  passage,  it  can  be  of  no  consider- 
Jiblc  importance,  as  it  prevents  not  our  discerning 

tlie 


19S  For  a  Communion  Sabbath* 

the  principal  aim  and  design  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
It  is  not  perhaps  easy,  I  admit,  to  determine  with 
exact  precision,  what  we  are  to  understand  by  the 
table  of  the  Lord^  by  that  contempt  which  was  ex- 
pressed for  it,  and  by  the  polluted  bread  which  those 
unworthy  ministers  offered  upon  it.  There  are  two 
opinions  on  this  subject,  but  which  both  issue  in 
the  idea  we  have  suggested  to  you,  of  our  prophet's 
sentiment. 

It  i:s  the  opinion  of  some  commentators,  that  by 
the  table^  of  wiiich  Malachi  speaks,  is  to  be  under- 
stood the  table  which  corresponded  to  that  placed 
by  Moses,  by  the  command  of  God,  in  the  part  of 
the  tabernacle  denominated  the  Holy  Place**  The 
law  enjoined  that  there  should  always  be  upon  that 
table  twelve  loaves,  or  cakes,  which  we  denominate 
the  sheW'bread^  otherwise  called  the  bread  qffaces, 
not  because  these  cakes  were  moulded  into  several 
sides,  or  raised  into  small  protuberances,  according 
to  the  opinion  of  certain  Jewish  doctors,  but  be- 
cause they  were  continually  exposed  in  the  pre- 
sence of  Jehovah,  who  w^as  considered  as  residing 
in  the  Holy  Place.  The  law  which  enjoined  the 
offering  of  them,  had  likewise  prescribed  the  rites 
which  were  to  be  observed  in  presenting  that  offer- 
ing. They  were  to  be  placed  on  the  holy  table,  to 
the  number  of  tv/elve  :  they  were  to  be  composed 
of  fine  flour  kneaded  into  a  paste  :  each  cake  was 
to  contain  an  omer  of  flour.  The  Jews  tell  us  t, 
that  it  must  have  past  eleven  times  through  the 
searse  ;  and  if  St  Jerome  t  is  to  be  credited,  it  be- 
longed to  the  priests  to  sow,  to  reap,  and  to  grind 
the  corn,  of  which  the  cakes  were  made,  and  to 

knead 


*  See  Exodus  xxv.  23,  &c. 

f  See  MIschna,  Tom.  V.  tit.,  de  uiunere,  cap.  vi.  sec.  vii.  page  S5. 
ILdit.  Arast. 

\  Hieron.  Tom,  III.  in  Mai.  i.  6.  page  ISIO.     Edit.  Bened. 


For  a  Communion  Sabbath.  199 

knead  the  dough.  Whatever  may  be  the  truth  as 
to  some  of  these  particulars,  to  treat  the  table  of 
the  Lord  as  contemptible^  to  offer  unto  God  polluted 
breads  is,  conformably  to  the  sentiment  which  I  have 
detailed,  to  violate  some  of  the  rites  which  were  to 
be  observed  hi  the  offering  of  the  cakes,  placed,  by 
divine  command,  on  the  table  which  was  in  the 
Holy  Place. 

The  generality  of  interpreters  has  adopted  another 
opinion,  which  we  have  no  difficulty  in  following. 
By  the  table  of  the  Lord,  they  here  understand  i  he 
altar  of  burnt-offerings.     It  is  denominated  the  table 
of  the  Lord,  in  some  other  passages  of  scripture ; 
particularly  in  chap.  xli.  of  the  prophecies  of  Eze- 
Kiel.     There,  after  a  description  of   the  altar   of 
burnt-offerings,  it  is  added,  "  This  is  the  table  that 
is  before  the  Lord,'^  ver  22.     On  this  altar  were 
offered  cakes  of  fine  flour,  as  we  see  in  various  pas- 
sages, particularly  in  the  first  verses  of  chap.  ii.  of 
the  book  of  Leviticus.     These  cakes  are  represent- 
ed as  if  they  were  the  bread  of  God.     The  same 
name  was  given  to  every  thing  offered  to  Deity  on 
that  altar.     All  was  called  the  bread  of  God,  or  the 
meat  of  God  ;  for  reasons  which  will  be  better  un- 
derstood in  the  sequel.     I  shall,  at  present,  satisfy 
myself  with  quoting  a  single  passage  in  justification 
of  this  remark.     It  is  in  chap.  xxi.  of  the  book  of 
Leviticus,  the  6th  verse.     Moses,  after  having  laid 
down  the  duties  of  the  priests,  adds  these  words  : 
"  They  shall  be  holy  unto  their  God,  and  not  pro- 
fane the  name  of  their  God  :  for  the  offerings  of 
the  Lord  made  by  fire,  and  the  bread  of  their  God 
do  they  offer  ;  therefore  they  shall  be  holy,"     You 
see  that  in  the  Levitical  style,  they  denominated 
the  meat  of  God,  or  the  bread  ofGod^  not  only  the 
cakes  ;  hich  w^cre   offered    upon  the  altar,  not  only 
the  loaves  of  the  shew-bread  which  were  presented 
on  the  table  in  the  Holy  Place,  but  all  the  victims 

w^hich 


20O  For  a  Communion  Sabbath. 

which  were  consumed  by  fire  on  the  altar  of  burnt- 
offering. 

Now,  the  manner  in  which  those  offerings  were 
to  be  presented,  had  likewise  been  laid  down  with 
singular  precision.  There  was  a  general  law  re- 
specting this  point,  which  you  will  find  in  chap. 
iv.  of  Leviticus  :  it  enjoined  that  the  victim  should 
be  ^dthout  blemish;  and  if  you  wish  for  a  more 
particular  detail  on  this  subject,  you  may  farther 
constdt  chap.  xxii.  of  the  same  book.  There  we 
have  enumerated  ten  imperfections,  which  render- 
ed a  victim  unworthy  of  being  offered  unto  God. 
Some  *  place  in  this  class,  not  only  bodily  but 
mental  imperfections,  if  this  last  epithet  may  be 
applied  to  brutes.  For  example,  they  durst  not 
have  presented  unto  God  animals  of  an  obstinate, 
petulant,  capricious  disposition,  and  the  like. 
Scruples,  by  the  way,  which  the  Pagans  them- 
themselves,  and  particularly  the  Egyptians  enter- 
tained, respecting  the  victims  which  they  offered 
to  their  gods.  They  set  apart  for  them  the 
choicest  of  the  flock  and  of  the  herd.  Herodo- 
tus informs  us  t,  that  in  Egypt,  there  were  per, 
sons  specially  appointed  to  the  office  of  examining 
the  victims. 

Let  us  no  longer  deviate  from  the  principal  ob- 
ject of  our  text.  If  by  the  table  of  the  Lord,  we 
are  to  understand,  as  it  is  presumable  we  ought, 
the  altar  of  burnt-offerings,  to  offer  unto  God  polluted 
bread,  in  the  style  of  Malachi,  to  say  the  table  of  the 
Lord  is  contemptible^  is  to  violate  some  of  the  rites 
prescribed,  respecting  the  offerings  which  were 
presented  unto  God  upon  that  altar.  More  espe- 
cially, it  is  to  consecrate  to  Deity,  victims  which 
had  some  of  the  blemishes  that  rendered  them  un- 
worthy of  his  acceptance. 

But 

*  See  Bochart  Hieroz.  Part  I.  Book  II.  chap.  4C.  page  523. 
•[-  In  Euterpe,  C3 p.  xxxvlii.  page  104.     Edit.  Fiancof. 


Tx)r  a  Communion  Sabbalh,  ^1 

But  was  it  indeed,  then,  altogether  worthy  of 
God  to  enter  into  details  so  minute  ?  But  of  what 
importance  could  it  be  to  the  Lord  of  the  universe, 
whether  the  victims  presented  to  him  were  fat  or 
lean,  and  whether  the  bread  consecrslted  to  him 
were  of  wheat  or  of  barley,  of  fine  or  of  coarse 
flour  ?  And  though  the  Jews  were  subjected  to 
minutenesses  of  this  kind,  what  interest  can  we 
have  in  them,  we  who  live  in  ages  more  enlighten- 
ed ;  we  who  are  called  to  serve  God  only  in  spiiit 
and  in  truths  John  iv.  24.  and  to  render  him  none 
but  a  reasonable  service^  Rom.  xii.  1.  ?  We  shall  de- 
vote the  remainder  of  the  time,  at  present  permit- 
ted to  us,  to  the  elucidation  of  these  questions  ;  we 
shall  endeavour  to  unfold  the  great  aim  and  object 
of  our  text,  and  apply  it  more  particularly  to  the 
use  of  our  hearers.  For  this  purpose  it  will  be  ne- 
cessary to  institute  a  twofold  parallel. 

I.  We  shall  institute  a  parallel  between  the  altar 
of  burnt-offerings,  or  the  table  of  the  shew-bread, 
and  the  table  of  the  Eucharist ;  and  shall  endeavour 
to  unfold  the  mystical  views  of  both  the  one  and 
the  other. 

II.  The  second  parallel  shall  be,  between  the 
profanation  of  the  altar,  or  the  table  of  the  shew- 
bread,  and  the  profanation  of  the  Christian  sacra- 
mental table  :  we  shall  indicate  what  is  implied, 
with  respect  to  the  Jews,  and  with  respect  to 
Christians,  in  offering  to  God  polluted  bread,  and  in 
lodking  on  the  table  of  the  Lord  as  contemptible  ;  and 
we  will  endeavour  to  make  you  sensible  of  the 
keenness  of  tlie  reproach  conveyed  by  the  mouth  of 
the  prophet :  "  K  son  honoureth  his  father,  and  a 
servant  his  master :  if  then  I  be  a  father,  where  is 
mine  honour  ?  and  if  I  be  a  master,  where  is  my 
fear  ?  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts  unto  you,  O  priests, 

that 


202  For  a  Communion  Sabbath. 

that  despise  my  name.  And  ye  say.  Wherein  have 
we  despised  thy  name  ?  Ye  offer  polluted  bread  up- 
on mine  altar ;  and  ye  say.  Wherein  have  we  pol- 
luted thee  ?  In  that  ye  say,  The  table  of  the  Lor4 
is  contemptible." 


SERMON 


SERMON  VII, 

PART  It 

For  a  Communion  Sabbath. 

Malachi  i.  6,  7. 


A  son  honour  etli  his  father^  and  a  servant  lih  master :  if 
then  I  he  afathey\  "where  is  mine  honour?  and  if  I  he 
n  master^  "where  is  my  fear?  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts 
unto  1/ou,  O  priests^  that  despise  my  name  And  ye 
say^  Wherein  have  we  despised  thy  name  ?  Ye  offer 
polluted  bread  upon  mine  altar  ;  and  ye  say^  Wherein 
have  "we  polluted  thee?  In  that  ye  say^  The  table  of 
the  hord  is  contemptible. 


HAVING  endeavoured  to  remove  the  difficulties 
in  which  the  text  may  seem  to  be  involved, 
and  shewn  what  we  are  to  understand  by  polluted 
breads  by  the  table  of  the  i  ord,  and  by  calHng  the  ta- 
ble of  the  Lord  contemptible^  we  proceed  to  institute 
the  twofold  parallel  proposed. 

I.  Let  us  state  a  parallel  between  the  altar  of 
burnt-offerings,  tlie  table  of  the  shew-bread,  and 

the 


2  04  For  a  Communion  Sabbath. 

the  sacramental  table  of  the  Lord's  supper  ;  the  of^ 
lerings  which  were  presented  to  God  on  the  first, 
and  those  which  we  still  present  to  him  on  the  se- 
cond. The  sacramental  table  of  the  supper,  as  the 
altar  of  burnt  offerings,  and  as  the  table  of  the  shew- 
bread,  is  the  table  of  the  Lord,  The  viands,  present- 
ed on  both  the  one  and  the  other,  aic  the  meat  of 
God,  or  the  bread  of  God.  And  those  sacred  cere- 
monies, however  they  may  differ  as  to  certain  cir- 
cumstances, have  been^  nevertheless,  destined  to 
the  same  end,  and  represent  the  same  mysteries  : 
namely^  the  intimate  union  which  God  wishes  to 
maintain  with  his  church  and  people. 

You  will  be  convinced  that  this  was  the  destina- 
tion of  the  altar  of  burnt-offerings,  and  of  the  table 
of  the  shew-bread,  if  you  have  formed  a  just  idea  of 
the  temple,  and  of  the  tabernacle.  The  tabernacle 
was  considered  to  be  the  tent  of  God,  as  the  Leader 
and  Commander  of  Israel,  and  the  temple  was  con- 
sidered as  his  palace.  For  this  reason  it  is,  that 
when  God  gave  commandment  to  construct  the  ta- 
bernacle, he  said  to  Moses,  "  Let  them  make  me 
a  sanctuary;  that  I  may  dwell  amongst  them,"  Exod. 
xxi.  8.  And  when  Solomon  substituted  the  temple 
in  room  of  the  tabernacle,  he  was  desirous  of  con- 
veying the  same  idea  of  it :  "I  have  surely  built 
thee  an  house  to  dwell  in,  a  settled  place  for  thee 
to  abide  in  for  ever.*'  The  following  are  the  words 
of  a  very  sensible  Kabbi  on  this  subject* :  "  God, 
''  to  whom  be  all  glory  inscribed,  gave  command- 
"  ment  to  build  for  him  an  house,  similar  to  the  pa- 
"  laces  of  the  kings  of  the  earth.  All  these  things 
"  are  to  be  found  in  the  palaces  of  kings  :  they  are 
"  surrounded  by  guards;  they  have  servants  to  pre- 

"  pare 

*  Rabbi  Scbem  Job  Cornnunt,  in  M.  re  Xcvocb.  Part  III.  Cap. 
■xliv.  fol.  171.  VentL  531  i. 


For  a  Commtmion  Sahhath,  205 

<^  pare  their  victuals  ;  musicians  who  sing  to  them, 
''  and  play  on  instruments.  There  are  likewise 
"  chambers  of  perfumes  ;  a  table  on  which  their  re- 
"  pasts  are  served  up:  a  closet  into  which  favourites 
"  only  are  admitted.  It  was  the  will  of  God,  that 
"  all  these  things  should  be  found  in  his  house,  that 
"  in  nothing  he  might  yield  to  the  potentates  of  the 
*''  earth.  And  all  these  things  are  designed  to  make 
*'  the  people  know,  that  our  King,  the  Lord  of 
*'  hosts  is  in  the  midst  of  us." 

This  general  idea  of  the  tabernacle  justifies  that 
which  we  are  going  to  give  of  the  altar  of  burnt- 
offerings,  and  of  the  table  of  the  shew-bread. 

1.  That  of  the  altar  of  burnt-offering  :  it  was  de- 
nominated tJie  table  of  the  Lord,  and  the  viands  serv- 
ed up  on  it  were  denominated  the  meat  or  the  bread 
of  Jehovah^  because  the  end  of  the  sacrifices  there 
offered  up  by  his  command,  was  to  intimate,  that 
he  maintained  with  his  people  an  intercourse  as  fa- 
miliar as  that  of  two  friends,  who  eat  together  at 
the  same  table.  This  is  the  most  ancient,  and  the 
most  usual  idea  of  sacrifice.  When  alliances  were 
contracted,  victims  were  immolated  :  and  the  con- 
tracting parties  made  a  common  repast  on  their 
flesh,  to  express  the  intimate  union  which  they  form- 
ed with  each  other.    > 

This  was  the  reason  of  all  the  rites  which  were 
served  between  God  and  the  people  of  Israel,  in  the 
alliance  formed  previous  to  the  promulgation  of  the 
law.  They  are  recorded  in  the  twenty-fourth  chap- 
ter of  the  book  of  Exodus.  Moses  represented  God ; 
Aaron,  Nadab  and  Abihu  his  two  sons,  and  tlie 
threescore  and  ten  elders  represented  the  whole 
congregation  of  Israel.  Altars  were  reared;  sacri- 
fices 


$06  For  a  Communion  Sabbath. 

fices  were  offered  up ;  they  feasted  together  on  the 
flesh  of  the  victims.  It  is  expressly  related  that 
Aaron,  Nadab  and  Abihu,  and  those  other  venera- 
ble personages  whom  I  have  mentioned,  went  up 
into  the  mountain,  aLo  they  saw  God,  and  did  eat  andr 
drink y  ver.  IK  And  to  make  it  apparent  that  the 
divine  presence  intervened,  the  history  adds,  that 
God  vouchsafed  to  bestow  sensible  tokens  of  his 
presence  :  And  they  saw  the  God  of  Israel :  and  there 
was  under  his  feet  as  it  were  a  paved  work  of  a  sap- 
phire-stone,  and  as  it  were  the  body  of  heaven  in  his 
clearness,  ver.  10.  A  work  paved  with  stars,  resem- 
bling a  composition  of  sapphire- stones :  a  symbol 
which,  perhaps,  God  preferred  to  any  other,  be- 
cause the  sapphire  was,  among  the  Egyptians,  the 
emblem  of  royalty,  as  may  be  seen  in  their  hiero- 
glyphics, which  the  industry  of  the  learned  have 
preserved  to  us. 

The  Pagans,  likewise,  Iiad  the  same  ideas  of  the 
sacrifices  which  they  offered  up.  They  did  eat  to- 
gether the  flesh  of  the  victims,  and  this  they  called 
eafmg  ov  feasting  with  the  gods*.  They  sometimes 
carried  off  part  of  it  to  their  houses  ;  sometimes 
sent  a  portion  of  it  to  their  friends;  sometimes  the}'- 
partook  of  it  in  the  temples  themselves,  in  which 
tables  were  placed  for  the  express  purpose  of  cele- 
brating festivals  of  this  kind.  Homer,  in  the  Odys- 
sey t,  introduces  Alcinous,  speaking  to  this  effect : 
The  gvd.>  render  themselves  visible  to  us,  when  we  im- 
molate  hecatombs  to  them  ;  they  eat  with  us,  and  place 
themselves  by  us  at  the  same  table.  The  same  poet, 
speaking  of  a  solemn  festival  of  the  Ethiopians, 
says  t,  that  "  Jupiter  had  descended  among  them, 
to  be  present  at  a  festival  which  they  had  prepared 
for  him,  and  that  he  was  attended  thither  by  all  the 

gods.^* 

*  Plato,  Tom.  II.  de  Legibus  II.  page  653.  Edit.  Stepb.  157S. 
-f  Book  V.  ver.  £02. 
t  Iliad  I.  ver.  123. 


iFor  a  Communion  Sabbath.  207 

gods.'*  In  another  place  *  he  tells  us,  that  Aga- 
memnon sacrificed  an  ox  to  Jupiter,  and  that  he  in« 
vited  several  of  the  chieftains  of  the  Grecian  army, 
to  eat  of  the  flesh  of  that  victim.  He  relates  some- 
thing similar  respecting  Nestor  t. 

Hence  it  comes  to  pass  that  the  phrase  to  make  a 
feast^  is  very  frequently  employed  both  by  sacred 
and  profane  authors,  to  express  performing  acts  of 
idolatrous  worship.  In  this  sense  it  is  that  we  are 
to  understand  it,  in  that  passage  of  the  prophet  E^ 
zekiel,  where,  enumerating  the  characters  of  the 
just  man,  this  is  laid  down  as  one,  "  He  hath  not 
eaten  upon  the  mountains,"  chap,  xviii.  64 ;  that  is, 
who  hath  not  been  a  partaker  in  the  sacrifices  of  the 
idolatrous.  In  burnt-offerings,  the  part  of  the  vic- 
tim consumed  by  fire  was  considered  as  the  portion 
of  Deity.  Of  this  I  shall  adduce  only  a  single  in- 
stance, that  I  may  not  load  my  discourse  with  too 
many  quotations.  Solinus  relates  §,  that  those  who 
oflered  up  sacrifices  to  idols  on  Mount  Etna,  con- 
structed their  altars  on  the  brink  of  its  crater :  that 
they  placed  bundles  of  dried  sprigs  upon  those  al- 
tars, but  that  they  applied  no  fire  to  them.  They 
pretended,  that  when  the  Divinity,  in  honour  of 
whom  these  rites  were  performed,  was  pleased  to 
accept  the  sacrifice,  the  bundles  of  sprigs  spontane- 
ously caught  fire  :  that  the  flame  approached  the 
persons  who  were  celebrating  this  sacred  festivity ; 
that  it  encompassed  them  round  and  round,  with- 
out doing  them  any  harm ;  and  thus  was  declared 
the  acceptance  of  their  oblation. 

In  like  manner,  in  the  sacrifices  which  were  offer- 
ed upon  the  altar  of  burnt-offerings,  one  part  of  the 

1  victim 

*  Uiad  II.  ver.  429,  &c. 

f  Odyss.  III.  ver.  428,  &c. 

X  See  other  examples,  Exod.  xxxH.  6. 

5  Polyh.  Cap.  V.  page  15.  Edit,   rraject.  IGficJ, 


^OS  For  a  Communion  Sabbath. 

victim  was  for  the  people,  another  part  for  the 
priest,  and  another  part  was  consumed  by  fire :  this 
last  was  considered  as  the  portion  of  God  :  this  was 
particidarly  denominated  the  meat  or  the  bread  of 
God ;  and  the  whole  solemnity  was  intended,  as  has 
been  said,  to  represent  the  intimate  union,  and  the 
familiar  intercourse,  which  i^od  wished  to  maintain 
between  himself  and  his  people. 

2.  The  same  was  likewise  the  design  of  the  table 
of  the  shew-bread.  It  was  natural  that  in  the  ta- 
bernacle, which  was  considered  as  the  tent  of  Jeho- 
vah, and  in  the  temple  which  was  afterwards  consi- 
dered as  his  palace,  there  should  be  a  table  reple- 
nished with  provision  for  himself  and  for  his  minis- 
ters. It  was  the  command  of  God,  that  twelve  of 
those  cakes  should  be  exhibited  continually  on  the 
table  of  the  sanctuary,  to  denote  the  twelve  tribes 
of  Israel.  This  same  number  was  kept  up  even  af- 
ter the  revolt  of  the  ten  tribes  :  because  there  were 
always  worshippers  of  the  true  God,  scattered  over 
the  whole  twelve  tribes.  These  cakes,  exposed  con- 
tinually in  the  presence  of  Jehovah,  were  an  invita- 
tion given  to  the  revolted  tribes,  to  maintain  his 
worship,  and  to  serve  him  conformably  to  the  rites, 
which  he  himself  had  been  pleased  to  prescribe 
by  the  hand  of  Moses.  This  was  likewise  the 
grand  motive  urged  by  Abijah  King  of  Judah,  to. 
bring  back  the  Israelites  to  their  allegiance,  2  Chron. 
xiii.  9,  &c. 

In  this  same  sense  is  the  table  of  the  Eucharist, 
likewise,  the  table  of  the  Lord,  In  this  same  sense, 
we  consider  as  the  meat  oj  God^  or  as  the  bread  c>f 
God^  these  august  symbols  which  are  presented  to 
us  in  the  holy  sacrament  of  the  supper.  These  two 
solemn  ceremonies  have  exactly  one  and  the  same 
end  in  view.    The  end  proposed  by  the  table  of  the 

1  Eucharist, 


For  a  Communion  Sabbath,  209 

Eucharist,  as  by  that  of  the  altar  of  burnt-offerings, 
or  by  the  table  of  the  shew-bready  is  to  form,  and  to 
maintain  between  C«od  and  us,  an  intercourse  of  fa- 
miliar friendship  ;  it  is  to  form  between  God  and 
us  the  most  intimate  union  which  it  is  possible  to 
conceive  as  subsisting  between  two  beings  so  very 
different  as  are  the  Creator  and  the  creature.  What 
proofs  of  love  can  be  interchanged  by  two  friends 
united  in  the  tenderest  bonds,  which  God  and  the 
believer  do  not  mutually  give  and  receive  at  the  Eu- 
charistical  table ! 

Two  friends  intimately  united,  become  perfectly 
reconciled  to  each  other,  when  some  interposing 
cloud  had  dimmed  the  lustre  of  friendship,  and  they 
repair,  by  warmer  returns  of  affection,  the  violence 
which  love  had  suffered  under  that  fatal  eclipse. 
This  is  what  we  experience  at  the  table  of  the  holy 
Sacrament.  That  august  ceremony  is  a  mystery  of 
reconciliation  between  the  penitent  sinner  and  the 
God  of  mercy.  On  the  one  part,  the  penitent  sin- 
ner presents  unto  God  a  broken  and  coiitrite  hearty  Ps, 
\i,  17.  for  grief  of  having  offended  him  :  he  pours 
into  the  bosom  of  his  God,  the  tears  of  repentance; 
he  protests  that  if  the  love  which  he  has  for  his  God 
h^s  undergone  a  temporary  suspension,  it  never  was 
entirely  broken  asunder ;  and  if  the  flame  of  that 
affection  has  been  occasionally  smothered  under  the 
ashes,  yet  it  was  never  entirely  extinguished  :  he 
says  to  him  with  Thomas,  recovered  from  his  pa- 
roxysm of  incredulity  J  My  Lord  and  mj/ God  ;  my 
Lord  and  my  God^  John  xx.  28.  and  with  Peter,  re- 
stored to  favour  after  he  had  denied  his  Master;  Lord^ 
thou  knowest  all  things^  thou  knorvcst  that  J  love  thee^ 
John  xxi.  17.  And  on  the  other  part,  the  God  of 
mercy  extends  his  bowels  of  compassion  toward  the 
believer  ;  he  gives  him  assurance  that  his  repentance 
is  accepted,  and  speaks  peace  inwardly  to  his  con- 
science, saying,  Son^  be  of  good  cheer  ^  thy  s'ms  be  for" 
given  thee^  Mat.  ix.  2. 

VOL.  VI.  P  Two 


21-0  For  a  Communion  SahbalTu 

Two  friends  intimately  united,  lose  sight,  in  soni-e 
sensCj  of  the  difference  which  there  may  be  between 
their  respective  conditions.  This  too,  is  what  the 
believer  experiences  at  the  Lord's  table.  On  the 
one  part,  though  there  must  ever  be  an  immeasur- 
able abyss  between  God  and  us,  we  go  to  him  as  to 
our  brother,  as  to  our  friend  ;  shall  I  presume  to 
add,  as  to  our  equal  ?  And  on  the  other  part,  God 
is  pleased  to  lay  aside,  in  condescension  to  our  weak- 
ness, if  the  expression  be  lawful,  the  rays  of  his  di- 
vine Majesty,  with  which  the  eyes  of  mortals  would 
be  dazzled  into  blindness.  Jesus  Christ  clothes 
himself  with  our  flesh  and  blood  ;  and  of  that  com- 
munity of  nature  makes  up  a  title  of  familiarity  with 
us  ;  according  to  those  words  of  the  apostle  :  "  both 
he  that  sanct-fieth,  and  they  who  are  sanctified,  are 
all  of  one  :  for  which  cause  he  is  not  ashamed  to  call 
them  brethren,  saying,  I  will  declare  tin  nanie  unto 
my  brethren,*'  Heb  ii.  11,  12. 

Two  friends  intimately  united,  blend  their  goods 
and  fortune,  in  blending  their  condition.  This  like^ 
wise  the  believer  experiences  in  tiie  holy  sacrament 
of  the  supper.  On  the  one  hand,  we  devote  to  God 
all  that  we  are  :  we  promise  him  that  there  is  no 
band  so  tender  but  what  we  shall  be  ready  to  break 
asunder  j  no  passion  so  dear,  but  that  we  are  deter- 
mined to  sacrifice  it ;  no  possession  so  precious  but 
that  we  are  cheerfully  disposed  to  resign,  whenever 
his  glory  requires  it  at  our  hands.  And  on  the 
other  hrjid,  God  drav/s  nigh  to  us  with  his  grace, 
with  hit  aid,  and  to  say  ail  in  one  word,  he  comes 
to  us  with  his  Son  :  he  gives  us  this  Son,  as  the  8on 
gives  himself  to  us,  God  so  loved  the  Xiorld^  that  he 
gave  his  only  begotten  Son,  John  iii-  16.  greater  love 
hath  no  man  than  this,  that  a  man  laij  doiai  his  lifejor 
hisjriends^  John  xv.  13. 

;  wo  friends  intimately  united,  however  well-as- 
sured they  may  be  of  reciprocal  tenderness,  take 
pleasure  in  making  frequent  repetition  of  the  ex- 
pressions 


For  a  Communion  Sabba'Ji.  .211 

iiiessions  of  it.  Friendsliip  has  its  high  festivals,  its 
overflowings,  its  extasies.  Tliis  too  is  the  experience 
of  the  saints  at  the  table  of  the  Lord.  There  the 
soul  of  the  believer  5ays  to  his  Redeemer,  "lam 
eruciiied  with  Clirist :  nevertheless  I  live  ;  yet  not 
.1,  but  Cln-ist  liveth  in  me  :  and  the  lii^  which  I  now 
live  in  the  flesh,  I  live  by  the  faith  of  the  Son  of 
God,  who  loved  me  :  and  gave  himselffor  me,"  Gal. 
li.  20.  And  there  it  is,  on  the  other  hand,  that  God 
communicates  to  tlie  soul  of  the  believer  the  full  as- 
surance of  his  love  :  '' for  tiie  mountains  shall  de- 
part, and  the  hills  be  removed  ;  but  my  kindness 
shall  not  depart  iiom  thee,  neither  shall  the  covenant 
of  my  peace  be  removed,  saith  the  Lord  that  hath 
mercy  on  thee,"  Isaiah  liv.  10. 

Thus  it  is,  my  brethren,  that  the  altar  of  burnt^ 
offerings,  or  the  table  of  the  shew-bread,  and  the 
Eucharistical  table  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  present  the 
self-same  mysteries  to  the  eye  of  faith.  Thus  it  is 
that  both  the  one  and  the  other  are  the  table  of  the 
Lord.,  and  that,  the  repast  served  up  on  it,  is  the  meat 
ofGod^  or  the  bread  oj  God.  Thus  it  is,  that  in  both 
the  one  and  the  other  of  those  solemn  ceremonies, 
the  end  which  God  proposes  to  himself  is  to  form 
with  men  an  union  tlie  most  intimate  and  the  most 
tender. 

Having  thus  stated  tlie  first  parallel  proposed, 
that  of  the  altar  of  burnt-ofFerings,  or  the  table  of  the 
shew-bread,  and  the  sacramental  table  of  the  Lord's 
Supper,  we  now  proceed, 

IL  To  state  the  parallel,  between  the  pr()fanation 
of  the  altar,  or  the  table  in  the  ancient  sanctuary, 
and  the  profanation  of  the  sacramental  table  of  ihk^ 
Eucharist :  that  is,  to  state  the  parallel  between  the 
duties  prescribed  to  the  ancient  Jews,  and  those 
which  are  prescribed  to  Clnistians,  when  they  draw 
nigh  to  God  in  the  holy  ordinance  of  the  Supper. 
As  tlil'y  trace  the  same  important  truths,  thvy  en- 

2  ibrce 


212  For  a  Communion  Sabbath. 

force  the  «ame  practical  obligations.  What  made 
the  ancient  Jews  pi\)far.e  tlie  table  of  the  Lord  ? 
How  came  th.y  to  say  the  table  of  the  Lord  is  con- 
temptible ?  How  dnrst  they  o^qx polluted  bread  on  his 
altar  ?  It  was,  1.  Because  they  formed  not  just  ideas 
of  the  end  which  God  proposed  to  himself^  when  he 
enjoined  the  observance  of  those  solemnities.  It 
arose,  2.  From  their  unwillingness  to  fulfil  the  mo- 
ral engagements  which  the  ceremonial  observance 
imposed.  Finally,  3.  It  proceeded  from  their  want- 
ing a  just  sense  of  the  value  of  the  blessings  com- 
municated by  these.  Now  the  sources  of  unworthy 
communicating,  so  common  in  the  Christian  world, 
are  precisely  the  same.  Want  of  illumination  ;  want 
of  virtue;  want  of  feeling.  Want  of  illumination, 
which  prevents  their  knowing  the  meaning  and  de- 
sign of  our  sacred  mysteries.  Want  of  virtue,  which 
prevents  their  immolating  to  God  all  the  vices  which 
separate  betw^ecn  him  and  them.  Want  of  feeling, 
which  prevents  their  being  kindled  into  gratitude, 
and  love,  and  holy  fervour,  when  God  discloses  to 
them,  at  his  table,  all  the  treasures  of  felicity  and 
glory.  Three  heads  of  comparison  between  the 
priests  of  Malachi's  days,  and  many  who  bear  the 
Christian  name  among  ourselves.  Three  touch- 
stones furnished  to  assist  you  in  the  examination  of 
your  own  consciences.  "  Thus  saith  the  Lord  of 
hosts  unto  you,  O  priests,  that  despise  my  name  : 
and  ye  say,  Wlierein  have  we  despised  thy  name? 
Ye  ofter  polluted  bread  upon  mine  altar  :  and  ye  say. 
Wherein  have  we  polluted  thee  ?  In  that  ye  say,  the 
table  of  the  Lord  is  contemptible." 

].  Want  of  illumination.  The  priests  of  Mala- 
chi's  days  did  not  form  ideas  sufficiently  just  of  the 
end  which  Jehovah  proposed  to  himself!,  when  he 
enjoined  the  presenting  of  offerings,  on  the  altar  of 
burnt-offejing,  and  on  the  table  of  the  shew-bread. 
Expressly  set  apart  for  teaching  those  great  truths 

to 


For  a  Commimon  Sabbath.  213 

t,a  others,  they  remained  themselves  in  a  state  of  ig- 
norance. They  had  no  other  qualification  to  be  the 
ministers  of  religion,  except  the  tribe  from  which 
they  descended,  and  the  habit  which  they  wore. 
Our  prophet  upbraids  them  with  this  gross  and  cri- 
minal ignorance  :  21ie  priests'  lips  should  keep  Imow- 
ledge^  and  they  should  seek  the  law  at  his  mouth  :  fr  he 
is  the  messenger  of  the  Lord  of  hosts :  but  ye  are  de- 
parted out  of  the  nsoay :  ye  have  caused  many  to  stumble 
at  the  law^  chap.  ii.  7,  8.  They  had  not  only  conceiv- 
ed false  ideas  or  religion  themselves,  but  they  com- 
municated these  to  the  people.  The  prophet  does 
not  indicate  precisely  respecting  what  points  the  ig- 
norance of  those  unworthy  iinnisters  was  most  con- 
spicuous ;  but  if  we  may  form  a  judgment  of  the  case 
from  the  character  of  their  successors,  it  was  impos- 
sible to  entertain  ideas  of  religion  more  false  than 
those  which  they  propagated.  How  wretched  was 
the  doctrine  of  the  Rabbins  who  were  contemporary 
with  our  blessed  Lord,  and  of  those  of  modern  times! 
Miserable  conceits  ;  insipid  allegories  ;  imaginary 
mysteries  ;  puerile  relations.  These  constituted  the 
great  body  of  the  Ilabbinical  theology.  Would  to 
Gof]  that  such  whims  were  to  be  found  only  among 
Rabbins  !  But  we  must  not  pursue  this  reflection. 
Nothing  more  is  wanting,  many  a  time,  but  a  single 
ignorant,  prejudiced  pastor,  to  perpetuate  igno- 
rance, and  transmit  prejudice,  for  ages  together  in  a 
church.  This  was  evidently  the  case  in  the  times 
of  our  prophet ;  and  this  it  was  which  dictated  these 
keen  reproaches  :  ye  are  departed  out  of  the  way  :  ye 
have  caused  many  to  stumble  at  the  law :  ye  have  cor- 
rupted the  covenant  of  Levi^  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts. 
ch.  ii.  8 

Want  of  illumination  :  the  first  head  of  compari- 
son between  the  criminalit}'  of  the  priests  of  Ma- 
laclii*s  days,  who  said,  the  table  of  the  Lord  is  con- 
temptible^ and  the  criminality  of  professing  Ciuis- 
tians,  who  proflme  the  sacramental  table.  To  pro- 
fane 


i^l^,  For  a  Commimion  Sabbath. 

fane  the  ordinance  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  is  to  par- 
take of  the  symbols  there  presented,  without  having 
maturely  considered  the  great  truths  which  they  re- 
present. To  profane  the  ordinance  of  the  Lord's 
Supper,  is  to  communicate,  without  having  any 
other  ideas  of  the  mysteries  of  the  incarnation  of  the 
Son  of  God,  which  are  there  unfolded,  than  tliose 
w4iich  v^e  had  of  them  in  the  days  of  our  childhood. 
To  profane  the  ordinance  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  is 
to  believe,  on  the  faith  of  a  man's  pastor,  or  of  his 
ancestors,  that  God  sent  his  Son  into  the  world,  to 
redeem  the  human  race,  and  to  take  no  pains  to  be 
informed  on  what  principles  that  doctrine  is  esta- 
blished. 

To  present  jjolhited  bread  oil  the  altar  of  God ,  to 
say,  the  table  of  the  Lord  is  contemptible  :  it  is  the 
crime  of  that  vouna:  man,  who  would  account  him- 
self  degraded  by  applying  to  the  study  of  his  cate- 
chism, by  acquiring  more  perfect  knowledge  of  his 
religion  ;  who  would  rather  continue  to  grovel  in 
ignorance,  than  employ  the  means  necessary  to  the 
attainment  of  instruction.  It  is  the  crime  of  that 
head  of  a  family,  who  is  so  far  from  being  in  a  con- 
dition to  communicate  religious  instruction  to  his 
children,  that  he  himself  is  a  stranger  to  it.  It  is 
the  crime  of  that  magistrate,  who,  under  pretence 
of  a  load  of  public  business,  will  not  take  time  seri- 
ously to  examine,  whether  there  be  a  God  in  heaven, 
and  whether  the  scriptures  are  of  divine  original 
and  authority.  It  is  the  crime  of  th.at  female, 'who, 
under  pretence  of  the  weakness  of  her  sex,  debases 
the  dignity  of  her  nature,  and  devotes  her  whole  at- 
tention to  the  management  of  her  domestic  con- 
cerns.  Lock  well  to  it,  examine  yourselves  care- 
fully. Is  there  no  one  among  you,  who  can  discern 
his  own  resemblance  in  any  of  these  cliaracters  ?  Is 
it  a  knowledge  of  the  trutli,  or  the  power  of  preju- 
dice, or  compliance  with   custom,  which  induces 

yon 


For  a  Commmiion  Sabbath.  21^ 

you  to  assume  the  livery  of  Christianity  ?  Is  it  the 
decision  of  a  learned  divine  and  the  authority  oi  your 
iathers  ;  or  is  it  the  fruit  of  serious  study,  and  au 
enlightened  persuasion?  Want  of  illumination;  this 
is  the  hrst  article  of  comparison  between  the  profane 
priests  of  Malachi's  days,  and  profane  Christians  of 
our  own  times :  "  you  offer  polluted  bread  upon 
mine  altar  ;  ye  say  the  table  of  the  Lord  is  con^ 
temptible/' 

2.  The  priests  of  Malachi's  days  profaned  the  ta- 
We  of  the  Lord,  in  refusing  to  fulfil  the  moral  en- 
gagements which  the  ceremonial  observance  im- 
posed ;  in  the  symbols  of  a  sacred  union  with  Deity. 
While  they  were  professedly  uniting  themselves  to 
the  Holy  one  of  Israel^  they  entertained  sentiments 
the  most  criminal,  and  were  chargeable  with  prac- 
tices tlie  most  irregular  and  impure.  They  partici- 
pated in  the  table  of  the  Lord,  while  their  hands 
were  defiled  with  the  accursed  thing ;  and  they  pre- 
sumed, by  offering  to  God  a  part  of  what  th'y  had 
forcibly  or  fraudulently  taken  away  from  their 
neighbours,  to  make  him,  in  some  measure,  an  ac- 
complice in  their  injustice  and  rapacity.  With  this 
they  are  reproached  in  the  l^ith  and  13th  verses  of 
the  chapter  from  which  our  text  is  taken :  ye  have 
polluted  my  table,  in  presenting  upon  it  that 
which  is  torn  or  stolen.  They  were  partakers  of  the 
table  of  the  Lord,  at  the  very  time  when  they  were 
avowedly  living  in  forbidden  wedlock  with  Pagan 
women.  With  tliis  they  are  upbraided  in  the  se- 
cond chapter  of  this  prophecy,  at  the  eleventh 
verse  :  "  Judali  had  d^alt  treacherously,  and  an  a- 
bomination  is  committed  in  Israel  and  in  Jerusalem  : 
for  Judah  hath  profaned  the  holiness  of  the  Lord 
which  he  loved,  and  hath  married  the  daughter  of 
a  strange  god,"  They  were  partakers  of  the  table 
of  the  Lord,  at  the  very  time  when  they  were  prac- 
tising criminal  divorces,  and  indulging  themselves 

in 


'i  1 6  for  a  Communion  Sahbath. 

in  sentiments  the  most  barbarous  and  inhuman,  to- 
ward persons  whom  the  laws  of  marriage  ought  to 
have  rendered  dear  and  respectable  to  them.  With 
this  they  are  reproached  in  the  ISth  verse  of  the 
same  chapter  :  ''  This  have  ye  done  again,  covering 
the  altar  of  the  Lord  with  tears,  with  weeping,  arid 
with  crying  out,  insomuch  that  he  regardeth  not 
the  offering  anymore,  or  receiveth  it  with  good-will 
at  your  hand.  Yet  ye  say,  Wherefore  ?  Because 
the  Lord  hath  been  witness  between  thee  and  the 
wife  of  thy  youth,  against  whom  thou  hast  dealt 
treacherously  ;  yet  she  is  thy  companion,  and  the 
wife  of  thy  covenant."  They  were  partakers  of  the 
table  of  the  Lord,  while  they  impiously  dared  to  ac- 
cuse him,  not  only  of  tolerating  vice,  but  of  loving 
and  approving  it.  With  this,  too,  they  are  reproach- 
ed, in  the  17th  verse  of  that  chapter:  "  Ye  have 
wearied  the  Lord  with  your  words  :  yet  ye  say. 
Wherein  have  we  wearied  him  ?  When  ye  say.  Every 
one  that  doth  evil  is  good  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord, 
and  he  delighteth  in  them  j  or.  Where  is  the  God 
of  judgment  ?" 

Want  of  virtue  :  a  second  point  of  comparison 
between  the  priests  who  said,  the  table  of  the  Lord  is 
contemptible^  and  professors  who,  to  this  day,  pro- 
fane the  holy  ordinance  of  the  supper.  Can  any 
among  you  discern  your  own  likeness  under  this 
character  ?  Are  you  going  to  vow  unto  the  Lord  an 
inviolable  fidelity ;  or,  w^liile  you  are  partaking  of 
his  grace,  have  you  a  secret  reservation  disrespect- 
ful to  his  laws  ?  Is  it  your  determination  to  put  i^ 
practice  the  great,  the  essential  virtues  of  the  Chris- 
tian life  :  or  do  you  mean  to  satisfy  yourselves  with 
discharging  the  petty  duties  of  morality,  and  with 
attending  to  the  formal  and  less  important  obliga* 
tions  of  religion  ?  Are  you  going  to  declare  wai' 
against  every  thing  which  opposes  the  empire  of 
righteousness  in  your  heart,  or  are  you  reserving  the 
the  indulgence  of  some  favourite  passion,  some  Da- 

lila. 


For  a  Cof}Wiunion  Sahbalh.  217 

lila,  some  Driisilla  ?  Are  you  disposed  to  prescribe 
to  your  progress  in  grace  a  fixed  point,  beyond 
which  it  is  needless  to  aim  ;  or  is  it  your  fixed  re- 
solution, through  grace,  to  be  continually  advan- 
cing toward  perfection  ?  Are  you  going  to  satisfy 
yoursebes  with  vague  designs  ;  or  are  your  projects 
to  be  supported  by  just  measures  and  sage  precau- 
tions ? 

3.  Finally,  the  priests  of  Malachi's  days  profaned 
the  table  of  the  Lord,  from  their  being  destitute  of 
a  just  sense  of  the  inestimable  value  of  the  blessings 
communicated.  It  seemed  to  them,  as  if  God  put 
a  price  too  high  on  the  benefits  which  he  proffered; 
and  that,  every  thing  weighed  and  adjusted,  it  was 
better  to  go  without  them,  than  to  purchase  them 
at  the  rate  of  such  sacrifices  as  the  possession  of 
them  demanded.  This  injurious  mode  of  compu- 
tation is  reproved  in  very  concise,  but  very  energe- 
tic terms,  chap.  i=  13.  "  Ye  said.  What  a  weariness 
is  it!"  and,  in  another  place,  chap.  iii.  14.  "Ye 
have  said  it  is  vain  to  serve  God  ;  and  what  profit 
is  it,  that  we  have  kept  his  ordinance,  and  that  we 
have  walked  mournfully  before  the  Lord  of  Hosts?" 
and  at  the  very  beginning  of  the  book  of  this  pro- 
phecy :  "  I  have  loved  you,  saith  the  Lord  :  yet  ye 
say,  wherein  hast  thou  loved  us  ?"  This  was  offer- 
ing an  insult  to  Deity,  if  the  expression  be  warrant- 
able, in  the  tenderest  part.  He  declares  to  us,  that 
he  stands  in  no  need  of  our  worship,  and  of  our 
homage  ;  that,  exalted  to  the  lieight  of  felicity  and 
fflorv,  he  can  derive  no  advantage  from  our  obedi- 
ence  and^submiss  on  ;  that  his  laws  are  the  fruit  of 
love,  and  that  the  virtue  which  lie  prescribes  to  us^ 
is  the  only  path  that  can  conduct  us  to  the  sove- 
reign good.  The  priests  belied  this  notion  of  re- 
ligion. 

Want  of  feeling  :  a  third  article  of  comparison, 
between  the  profanation  of  the  tabic  of  the  Lord, 


2iS  Fw  a  Cuimnunion  Sahhaih, 

of  which  those  detestable  wretches  rendered  them- 
selves guilty,  and  the  guilt  of  Christian  professors 
who  profane  the  holy  table  of  the  Lord's  supper. 
A  Christian  who  partakes  of  this  sacred  ordinance, 
ought  to  a])proach  it  with  a  heart  penetrated  by  the 
unspeakable  greatness  of  the  blessings  there  tender- 
ed to  our  acceptance.  He  ought  to  view  that  sa- 
cred table  as  the  centre,  in  which  all  the  benedic- 
tions bestowed  by  the  Creator  meet.  He  ought  to 
be  making  unremitting  efforts  to  measure  the  bound- 
less dimensions  of  the  love  of  God,  to  implore  the 
aid  of  the  Spirit,  that  he  may  be  enabled  to  view 
it  in  all  its  extent,  and  to  "  comprehend  v/ith  all 
saints  what  is  the  breadtli,  and  length,  and  depth, 
and  height  of  that  love,'*  Eph.  iii.  IS.  He  ought 
to  be  contemplating  that  chain  of  blessings  which 
are  tlicre  displayed  in  intimate  and  inseparable 
iraion  :  "  What  he  did  foreknow  he  also  did  predes- 
tinxi.te,  to  be  conformed  to  the  image  of  his  Son  .  . 
.  .  .  moreover  whom  he  did  predestinate  them. 
lie  also  called  ;  and  whom  he  called  them  he  also 
justified  :  and  whom  lie  justified  them  he  also  glo- 
rified," Rom.  viii.  2:'),  SO.  Under  a  sense  of  favours 
so  numerous,  and  so  distinguishing,  he  ought  to 
cry  out  with  the  PsalmiLt :  "  How  excellent  is  thy 
loving-kindness,  O  God  1  therefore  the  chddren  of 
men  put  their  trust  under  the  shadow  of  thy  wings. 
They  shall  be  abundantly  satisfied  with  the  fatness 
of  thy  house  ;  and  thou  shalt  make  them  drink  of 
the  river  of  thy  pleasures,'*  Ps.  xxxvi.  7,  8.  He 
ought  to  exclaim,  with  a  soul  absorbed  in  the  im- 
mensity of  the  divine  goodness  :  "  my  soul  shall  be 
^^atisficd  as  with  marrov/  and  fatness,"  PS.  Ixiii.  5. 
He  ought,  above  all,  to  be  struck  with  the  incom- 
prehensible disproportion  there  is  between  what 
God  does  for  us,  and  w^hat  he  requires  of  us.  He 
ought  to  make  the  same  estimate  of  things  which 
St  Paul  did  :  "  I  reckon,  that  the  sufferings  of  this 
present  tim.c  arc  not  worlliv  to  be  compared  v/ith 

tli^ 


Tor  aCommiinioii  Sabbath,  219 

the  glory  which  shall  be  revealed  in  us,"  Rom.  viii. 
IS.  every  thing  fairly  considered,  I  reckon  that  the 
trouble  which  the  study  of  his  religion  demands, 
the  sacrifices  exacted  of  God,  the  constraint  to 
which  I  am  subjected  in  immolating  to  him  my  sin- 
ful passions,  in  resisting  a  torrent  of  corruption,  in 
struggling  against  the  influence  of  bad  example,  in 
straining  to  rise  above  flesh  and  blood,  above  self- 
love  and  nature  :  every  thing  fairly  considered,  / 
reckon  that  whatever  is  demanded  of  us  by  God, 
when  we  come  to  his  table,  is  not  once  to  be  com- 
pared with  the  favours  which  he  there  dispenses, 
with  the  grand  objects  which  he  there  displays,  with 
the  pardon  which  he  there  pronounces,  with  the 
peace  of  conscience  which  he  there  bestovvs,  with 
the  eternal  glory  which  he  there  promises.  To  be 
destitute  of  such  feelings  as  these,  when  we  partake 
of  the  Lord's  supper,  is  to  profane  \U  Examine 
yourselves  once  more  by  this  standard.  Want  of 
feeling,  this  was  the  third  head  of  comparison  be- 
tw^een  profane  Jews,  and  profane  Christian  profes- 
sors :  "  Ye  offer  polluted  bread  upon  mine  altar  ; 
ye  say  the  table  of  the  Lord  is  contemptible." 

Let  each  of  us  examine  himself  by  an  application 
iil  the  truths  now  delivered.    I  shall  address  myself, 

1.  To  those  who,  on  reviewing  their  former  com- 
munion services,  see  cause  to  consider  themselves 
^s  chargeable  with  the  guilt  which  God  imputed  to 
the  Jews  who  lived  in  the  days  of  Malachi.  And 
would  to  God  that  this  topic  of  discourse  might 
have  no  refeience  to  any  one  in  this  assemblv  I 
Would  to  God  that  no  one  of  you  might  be  justly 
ranked  in  any  of  the  odious  classes  which  we  have 
enumerated  1 

But  only  employ  a  moment's  reflection,  on  \}.\(^ 
shortness  of  the  time  usually  devoted  to  preparation 
for  partaking  of  the  Lord's  supper.  It  is  evident, 
as  I  think,  from  all  we  have  said,  that  \\\q,  prepara- 
tion 


220  For  a  Communion  Sabbath. 

tion  necessary  to  a  worthy  receiving  of  it^  is  a  work, 
nay,  a  work  which  calls  for  both  attention  and  exer- 
tion. But  do  we,  of  a  truth,  set  apart  much  of  our 
time  to  this  work  ?  I  do  not  mean  to  examine  all  the 
cases  in  which  a  man  may  communicate  unworthi- 
ly ;  I  confine  myself  to  a  single  point,  and  only  re- 
peat this  one  reflection  :  Preparation  for  the  Lord's 
table  is  a  work  which  requires  time,  attention,  exer- 
tion. That  is  enough  ;  that  proves  too  much  against 
us  all.  For,  we  are  constrained  to  acknowledge, 
that  it  is  by  no  means  customary  among  us  to  retire 
for  meditation,  to  fast,  to  engage  in  peculiar  acts  of 
devotion,  on  the  days  which  precede  a  communion 
solemnity.  It  is  no  unusual  thing  to  see,  on  those 
days,  at  many  of  our  houses,  parties  formed,  social 
festivity  going  on :  in  these  we  see  the  same  games, 
the  same  amusements,  the  same  dissipation  as  at 
other  times.  I  have  reason  to  believe  that  in  other 
Protestant  countries,  though  the  same  corruption 
but  too  universally  prevails,  I  believe,  nevertheless, 
that  such  days  are  there  distinguished  by  the  sus- 
pension of  parties  of  pleasure,  by  discontinuance  of 
certain  practices,  perhaps  abundantly  innocent  in 
themselves,  but,  at  the  same  time,  too  foreign  to 
the  design  of  the  holy  communion,  to  engage  our 
attention,  when  we  have  an  immediate  prospect  of 
partaking  of  it.  But  in  these  provinces,  we  are  so 
tar  from  coming  up  to  the  spirit  and  the  truth  of 
Christianity,  the  exterior  order  and  decency  of  it 
are  hardly  observed. 

But  if  this  reflection  be  insufficient  to  convince 
you  of  a  truth  so  mortifying,  as  that  there  is  much 
unworthy  communicating  in  the  midst  of  us  ;  think, 
I  beseech  you,  on  the  slightness  of  the  changes 
which  these  solemnities  produce.  Here  is  the  touch- 
stone ;  this  is  the  infallible  standard  by  v;hich  to  de- 
termine the  interesting  question  under  discussion. 
Four  times  a  year  Vv'c  almost  all  of  us  come  to  the 
table  of  the  Lord  Ji^sus  ClM'ist ;  four  times  a  year 

we 


tor  a  Communion  Sabbath,  221 

we  partake  of  the  holy  sacrament  of  the  supper ; 
four  times  a  year,  consequently,  this  church  ought 
to  assume  a  new  appearance  ;  four  times  a  year  we 
ought  to  see  multitudes  of  new  converts.  But  do 
we  see  them  of  a  truth  ?  Ah  !  I  dare  not  dive  to  the 
bottom  of  this  mortifying  subject.  The  evil  is  but 
too  apparent  j  we  have  but  too  good  reason  to  al- 
lege, that  there  is  much  unworthy  communicating 
in  the  midst  of  us. 

It  is  with  you,  unhappy  professors  of  the  Chris- 
tian name,  with  you  I  must  begin  the  application 
of  this  discourse:  with  you,  who  have  so  often  found 
out  the  fatal  secret  of  drawing  a  mortal  poison  from 
that  sacred  table :  with  you,  who  are,  by  and  by, 
going  once  more,  perhaps,  to  derive,  a  curse  from 
the  very  bosom  of  benediction,  and  death  from  the 
fountain  of  life. 

Do  not  deceive  yourselves  ;  seek  not  a  disguise 
from  your  own  wretchedness  j  think  not  of  extenu- 
ating the  apprehension  of  your  danger  :  listen,  O 
listen  to  the  fearful  threatenings  denounced,  by  the 
prophet,  against  God's  ancient  people,  after  he  had 
addressed  them  in  the  words  of  the  text:  "  Cursed 
be  the  deceiver  which  ....  voweth  and  sacrificeth 
unto  the  Lord  a  corrupt  thing  ....  if  ye  will  not 
hear,  and  if  ye  will  not  lay  it  to  heart,  to  give  glory 
unto  my  name,  saith  the  Lord  of  Hosts,  1  will  even 
send  a  curse  upon  you,  and  I  will  curse  your  bles- 
sings ....  I  will  corrupt  your  seed,  and  spread 
dung  upon  your  faces,  even  the  dung  of  your  solemn 
feasts,"  chap.  i.  14.  ii.  2,  3. 

But  on  the  other  hand,  infuse  not  poison  into 
your  wounds,  aggravate  not  the  image  of  your 
wretchedness,  but  attend  to  the  comfortable  words, 
which  immediately  follow  those  of  my  text :  "  Now 
I  pray  you,  beseech  God  that  he  will  be  gracious 
unto  us  ....  he  will  regard  your  persons,"  vcr. 
9.  The  sentence  of  your  condemnation  is  not  yet 
executed  :  the  doom  of  death,  which  has  been  pror 

nounced 


S22  For  a  Commimion  SahbaiJi, 

iioiniced  against  you  is  not  irrevocable.  1  see  you 
still  blended  with  Christians  who  hav^e  communicat- 
ed worthily,  and  who  are  going  to  repeat  that  de- 
lightful service  :  I  still  behold  "  the  riches  of  God's 
goodness,  and  forbearance,  and  long-suffering  .  .  . 
".  leading  you  to  repentance,"  Rom.  ii.  4.  and  you 
may  still  become  partakers  in  the  blessedness  of 
this  day. 

You  must  have  recourse  to  that  same  Jesus  whom 
you  have  so  cruelly  insulted :  you  must  be  covered 
with  that  very  blood  which  you  have  trampUd  under 
foot  in  a  manner  so  profane  :  you  must  flee  and  take 
refuge  under  the  sliadow  of  that  very  cross,  to 
which  you  was  going  to  nail  afresh  the  Lord  of 
glory :  you  must,  by  ardent  and  importunate  sup- 
plication, avert  the  tlnmderbolt,  which  is  ready  to  be 
launched  against  your  guilty  head:  "  O  Lord,  rebuke 
ine  not  in  thy  wrath:  neither  chasten  me  in  thy  hot 
displeasure,  Ps.  xxxviii.  1.  Against  thee,  thee  only, 
have  I  sinned,  and  done  this  evil  in  thy  sight:  .... 
deliver  me  from  blood-guiltiness,  O  God,  thou  God 
of  my  salvation  :  restore  unto  me  the  joy  of  thy  sal- 
vation ;  and  upliold  me  wath  thy  free  Spirit,"  Ps. 
]i.  4,  14,  12. 

But,  above  all,  resolutions  sincere,  determinate, 
efficacious,  followed  up  by  execution  from  the  mo- 
ment you  retire  from  this  place  must  supply  tlie 
want  of  preparation,  and  the  communicating  of  this 
day  must  make  up  the  defects  of  all  that  preceded 
it.  And  if  God  has  not,  in  mercy,  granted  you  such 
dispositions  as  these,  may  he  inspire  you,  at  least, 
with  a  resolution  not  to  approach  his  table,  for  fear 
of  arming  his  right  hand  with  hotter  thunderbolts 
to  crush  and  destroy  you  !  or  rather,  may  God  grant 
you  those  happy  dispositions,  and  graciously  accept 
them  when  bestowed  !  May  it  please  God  to  be  dis- 
armed by  your  repentance,  to  gather  up  your  tears, 
to  regard  with  an  eye  of  favour  your  efforts,  your 
feeble  efforts  i  iNlay  God  grant  your  absolution,  your 

salvation. 


For  a  Communion  Sahhaili,  223 

salvatio:^,  to  the  earnest  prayers  of  these  his  faitliful 
servants,  or  rather,  to  the  all-powerful  intercession 
of  the  Redeemer,  unprotected  by  which  the  most 
eminent  of  saints  durst  not  lift  up  their  eyes  to  hea- 
ven, and  approach  the  throne  of  the  divine  Majesty. 

i?.  I  now  turn  to  you,  my  dearly  beloved  bre- 
thren, who,  while  you  reflect  on  communion  sea- 
sons past,  can  enjoy  the  testimony  of  conscience, 
that  you  drew  nigh  to  God  in  some  state  of  prepa- 
ration, and  that  you  have  reason  to  hope  for  a  re- 
petition of  the  same  felicity.  This  ceremony  is  si> 
august ;  the  mysteries  which  it  unfolds,  are  so  aw- 
ful J  the  punishment  denounced  against  tliosc  who 
profane  it,  is  so  tremendous,  that  it  is  impossible  to 
escape  every  em.otion  of  fear,  Vv'hen  engaged  in  ih^. 
celebration  of  it.  Study  to  be  sensible  of  your  ovrn 
weakness.  Say,  in  the  language  of  repentance  the 
most  lively  and  sincere,  and  of  liumifity  the  most 
profound:  "  If  thou,  Lord,  shouldst  mark  iniquities; 
O  Lord,  who  shall  stand  V'  Ps.  cxxx:  3.  "6  Lord 
God,  I  am  not  worthy  of  iho:  least  of  all  the  mer- 
cies, and  of  all  the  truth  v/hich  thou  hast  shewn  un- 
to thy  servant,"  Gen.  xxxii.  10.  Stand  in  awe  of 
the  presence  of  the  majesty  of  God  almighty  ;  cry 
out  with  Jacob,  "  How  dreadful  is  this  phice  !  this 
is  none  other  but  the  house  of  God,  and  this  is  tlie 
gate  of  heaven,"  Gen,  xxviii.  17. 

But  Vv'hile  you  render  unto  God,  tlie  ho:ri3ge  of 
holy  fear,  honour  him  likewise  witli  that  of  holy 
confidence,  Tliink  not  tiiat  he  loves  to  be  alwa^'s 
\'ievv^ed  as  the  grent^  the  migJiiy^  and  llie  terrible  God^ 
Neil.  ix.  32.  the  God  who  is  a  consuming f^re^  Heb. 
xii.  29.  Jle  draws  nigh  to  you  m  this  ordinance, 
not  with  awful  manifestations  of  vengeance;  but 
v/ith  all  the  attractions  of  his  grace,  v/ith  ail  the 
gifts  of  his  Spirit,  with  ail  the  demonstrations  of  his 
love.  Bow  dovi^n  over  the  mystical  ark,  together 
witli  the  celestial  intelligences,  and  admire  tlie  won- 

3  dc- 


224  Fdv  a  Cownunion  Sabbath* 

ders  which  it  contains,  and,  beholding  with  them 
the  glory  of  your  Redeemer,  with  them  cry  out, 
Huly^  holy^  holy  is  the  Lord  of  Hosts  /  the  whole  earth 
is  full  of  his  glory  ^  Isa.  vi.  3. 

Study  to  know  and  to  feel  the  whole  extent  of 

your  felicity,  and  let  a  sense  of  the  benefits  with 

which  God  hath  loaded  thee,  kindle  the  hallowed 

flame  of  gratitude  in  your  hearts.  "  Hast  thou  ever, 

'  O  my  soul,   been  made  sensible  of  the  unbound- 

*  ed  nature  of  thy  happiness  ?  Hast  thou  exerted 

*  thyself  to  the  uttermost,  to  take  all  the  immea- 
'  surable  dimensions  of  the  love  of  God  ?  Hast  thou 
'  reflected  profoundly,  on  a  God  who  was  made 
'  flesh,  who  rescues  thee  from  everlasting  misery, 
^  who  covers  thy  person  with  his  own,  that  the  ar- 
^  rows  of  divine  wrath  may  pierce  him  only,  with- 
'  out  reaching  thee  ?  Hast  thou  seriously  consider- 
'  ed,  that  if  God  had  hurried  thee  out  of  the  world 

*  in  a  state  of  unrepented  guilt ;  if  he  had  not 
^  plucked  thee,  by  a  miracle  of  grace,  out  of  the 
'  vortex  of  human  things,  instead  of  being  sur- 
"  rounded,  as  now,  vvith  these  thy  fellow  believers 
'  in  Christ  Jesus,  thou  mightest  have  been  doomed 
'  to  the  society  of  demons  ;  instead  of  those  songs 
'  of  praise  to  which  thy  voice  is  now  attuned,  thou 

*  mightest  this  day  have  been  mingling  thy  hovv- 
'  lings  with  those  of  the  victims,  whom  the  wrath 

"  of  God  is  immolating  in  the  regions  of  despair." 
Let  the  blessedness  which  God  is  accumulating  up- 
on us,  support  us  under  all  the  ills  which  we  are 
called  to  endure.  Our  life  is  not  yet  concluded  j 
our  warfare  is  not  yet  accomplished. 

We  are  about  to  return  into  the  world  ;  we  have^ 
rstill  difficulties  and  dangers  to  encounter,  bitter  po- 
tions to  swallow,  afflictions  to  suffer ;  especially  in 
this  age  of  fire  and  of  blood  so  fatal  to  the  Christian 
name.  But,  supported,  by  this  peace  of  God,  we 
shall  be  able  to  resist  and  to  overcome  (he  most 
violent  assaults. 

1  We 


For  a  Communion  Sabbath.  225 

We  are  going  to  return  into  the  world,  amidst  the 
snares  of  the  wicked  one  ;  he  will  still  aim  many  a 
blow  at  our  souls  ;  this  flesh  is  not  yet  entirely  mor- 
tified ;  the  old  man  has  not  yet  received  his  death's 
wound  ;  evil  concupiscence  is  not  yet  completely 
extinguished  ;  we  shall  fall  into  sin  again.  Humi- 
liating reflection  to  a  soul  which,  this  day,  places  all 
its  dcliglit,  in  being  ^united  unto  God !  But,  sup- 
ported by  this  peace  of  God,  we  shall  find  the 
means  of  remedying  the  w^eaknesses  with  which  we 
may  be  still  overtaken,  as  it  has  furnished  the  means 
of  deliverance  from  those  into  which  we  had  already 
fallen. 

We  are  going  to  return  into  the  world,  it  is  high 
time  to  think  of  our  departure  out  of  it.  We  are 
conversant  with  the  living  ;  we  must  think  of  being 
speedily  mingled  with  the  dead.  We  yet  live  ;  w^e 
must  die.  We  must  be  looking  forward  to  those 
mortal  agonies  which  are  prepadng  ;  to  that  bed 
of  languishing  which  is  already  spread  ;  to  that  fu- 
neral procession  which  is  marshalling  for  us.  But, 
supported  by  this  peace  of  God  we  shall  be  more 
than  conquerors  in  all  these  conflicts  :  with  the  Spi- 
lit  of  him  rcho  hath  7'aised  up  Christ  from  the  dead,  wc 
shall  bid  defiance  to  all  the  powers  of  the  kijtg  of  ter- 
rors, Jesus,  who  hath  destroyed  him  idio had  the poxjcer 
of  death,  will  deliver  us  from  his  dominion.  Through 
that  gloomy  night  which  is  tast  approaching,  and 
which  is  already  covermg  our  eyes  with  its  awfuj 
shade,  we  shall  behold  the  rays  of  the  Son  of  righte- 
ousness, and  their  divine  light  shall  dissipate  to  us 
all  the  horrors  of  the  valley  of  the  shadoxv  oj  death. 
Amen.  To  God  be  honour  and  glory  for  ever. 
Amen. 


VOL.  VI.  Q  SERMON 


SERMON  VIll. 

The  Rapture  of  St  PauL 


2  GOR.  xii.  2y  3,  4f. 


I  Icnew  a  man  hi  Christ  above  fourteen  years  ago^  (whe* 
ther  in  the  body  I  cannot  tell  ^  or  xvhether  tut  of  the 
body^  I  cannot  tell :  God  knoweth  ;)  such  an  one 
caught  up  to  the  third  heaven »  And  I  knew  such  a 
man  J  (whether  in  the  body^  or  out  of  the  body^  Ican^ 
not  tell :  God  knoweth  ;J  how  that  he  was  caught  up 
into  paradise^  and  heard  unspeakable  words ^  which  it 
is  not  lanfulfor  a  man  to  utter* 

IF  there  be  a  passage  in  the  whole  Bible  capable 
of  inflaming,  and  at  the  same  time  of  baffling  hu- 
man curiosity,  it  is  that  which  I  have  just  now  read. 
I  do  not  mean  a  vain  and  presumptuous  curiosity, 
but  a  curiosity  apparently  founded  on  reason  and 
justice.  One  of  the  principal  causes  of  our  want  of 
ardour  in  the  pursuit  of  heavenly  blessings,  is  our 
having  no  experienced  witness,  who,  after  having 
himself  tasted  the  sweetness  of  them,  conveyed  to 
us  clear  and  distinct  ideas  on  the  subject.     It  is  a 

2  difficult 


228  The  Rapture  of  St  FaiiL 

difficult  matter  to  love  that  of  which  we  have  n© 
knowledge. 

St  Paul  seems  to  have  been  reserved  of  God  to 
supply  this  defect,  and  to  fill  up,  if  1  may  use  the 
expression,  this  void  in  religion.  By  a  supernatural 
dispensation  of  grace,  he  passes  into  the  other  v/orld 
before  death  ;  and  he  returns  thence  before  the  ge- 
neral resurrection.  The  whole  church,  awakened 
to  eager  attention,  calls  upon  him  for  a  detail  of  the 
wonders  of  the  world  unknown.  And  as  the  Is- 
raelites, after  having  dispatched  spies  into  the  land 
of  promise,  burned  with  ardent  desire  to  see  and 
hear  them,  in  order  that  they  might  obtain  informa- 
tion respecting  the  country,  whether  it  merited  the 
exertions  necessary  to  acquire  possession :  in  like 
manner,  the  Christian  world  seems  to  flock  round 
our  apostle,  in  earnest  expectation  of  being  inform- 
ed what  that  felicity  is,  into  which  they  are  invited 
to  enter  by  a  gate  so  strait.  They  seem  with  one 
accord  to  ask  him  :  What  did  you  hear  ?  What  did 
you  see  ?  in  the  view  of  determining,  upon  his  re- 
port, this  all-important  question,  whether  they 
should  still  persevere  in  their  exertions,  to  sur- 
mount the  obstacles  which  they  have  to  encounter 
in  the  vv^ay  of  salvation,  or  whether  they  should  re- 
linquish the  pursuit. 

But  St  Paul  fulfils  not  this  expectation  :  he  main- 
tains a  profound  silence  respecting  the  objects  which 
had  been  presented  to  his  mind  :  he  speaks  of  his 
rapture,  only  in  the  view  of  confounding  those  false 
teachers  who  took  upon  them  to  set  at  nought  his 
ministry  :  and  all  the  description  he  gives  of  para- 
dise, amounts  to  no  more  than  a  declaration  of  his 
own  utter  inability  to  describe  what  he  had  seen  and 
heard.  I  knexv  a  man  in  Christ :  a  man  in  Christ,  that 
is  to  say,  a  Christian,  and  by  this  denomination  the 
apostle  is  characterizing  himself,  "  I  knew  a  man  in 
Christ  above  fourteen  years  ago,  (whether  in  the 
body,  I  cannot  tell  y  or  whether  out  of  the  body,  I 

cannot 


The  Rapture  of  St  Paid.  229 

cannot  tell :  God  knoweth;)  such  an  one  caught  up 
to  the  third  heaven.  And  1  knew  such  a  man,  (whe- 
ther in  the  body,  or  out  of  the  body,  I  cannot  tell : 
God  knoweth  ;)  how  that  he  was  caught  up  into 
paradise,  and  heard  unspeakable  words,  which  it  is 
not  lawful  for  a  man  to  utter." 

We  propose  in  the  following  discourse,  my  bre- 
thren, to  attempt  a  solution  of  the  difficulty  which 
arises  from  this  silence  of  the  apostle.  We  propose 
to  discuss  this  singular,  but  interesting  question ; 
Wherefore  is  the  celestial  felicity  unspeakable? 
Wherefore  should  it  be  imlamjulfor  a  man  io  utter  it? 
We  shall  begin  with  some  elucidation  of  the  expres- 
sions of  our  te^t^  inquiring,  1.  Into  the  era  to  which 
reference  is  here  made  ;  "  I  knew  a  man  in  Christ 
above  fourteen  years  ago.*'  2.  By  considering  what 
is  said  respecting  the  manner  of  this  rapture;  "  Whe- 
ther in  the  body,  I  cannot  tell;  or  whether  out  of 
the  body,  I  cannot  tell :  God  know^eth."  3.  What 
we  are  to  understand  by  Paradise^  and  the  third  hea- 
mn,  4.  Finally,  What  ideas  we  are  to  affix  to  those 
unspeakable  words  to  which  our  apostle  alludes  in 
the  text :  and  these  will  constitute  the  first  general 
division  of  our  subject. 

But  in  the  second,  which  we  have  principally  in 
view,  we  shall  examine  the  point  already  indicated, 
by  inquiring.  Whether  the  silence  of  scripture,  re- 
specting a  state  of  future  happiness,  suggests  any 
thing  tending  to  cool  our  ardour  in  the  pursuit  of  it : 
we  shall  endeavour  to  make  you  sensible,  that  no- 
thing is  so  much  calculated  to  convey  lofty  ideas  of 
the  paradise  of  God,  as  that  very  vail  which  con- 
ceals it  from  our  eyes.  If  you  fully  enter  into  the 
»f>'reat  aim  and  end  of  this  discourse,  it  will  produce 
on  your  minds  those  effects  to  which  all  our  exhort- 
ations, all  our  importunities  are  adapted,  namely,  to 
kindle  in  your  hearts  an  ardent  desire  to  go  to  God  ; 
to  put  into  your  mouths  that  exclamation  of  the 
Psalmist :  PIozv  great  is  thy  goodjiess,  O  God,  zvhich  thou 

hast 


230  Tlie  Rapture  of  St  Paul 

hast  laid  up  for  them  that  fear  thee  !  Ps.  xxxi.  19.:  to 
place  you  in  the  very  situation  of  our  apostle,  who, 
after  having  been  caught  up  to  the  ttnrd  heaven^  could 
Ko  longer  endure  to  live  upon  the  earth,  had  his  eyes 
opened  to  every  path  that  led  to  death,  could  talk 
no  more  of  any  thing  but  of  dying,  but  of  fnishing 
his  course,  2  Tim.  iv.  7.  but  of  being  absent fro?n  the 
hodi/,  2  Cor.  v.  8.  but  of  departing ^  but  of  being  with 
Christy  wJuch  was  to  him  Jar  better^  Phil.  i.  23. 

I.  We  begin  v»dth  some  elucidation  of  the  expres- 
sions of  the  text,  and  of  these, 

1.  The  first  refers  to  the  era  of  St  Paul's  rapture, 
I  knew  a  man  in  Christ,  above  four ieen  years  ago, 
But  were  we  to  enter  upon  a  complete  discussion  of 
this  question,  it  would  occupy  much  more  time  than 
isallotted  for  the  whole  of  our  present  exercise. 
Never  had  preacher  a  fairer  opportunity  of  wasting 
an  hour,  to  his  hearers,  in  useless  investigation,  and 
impertinent  quotations.  We  could  easily  supply 
you  with  an  ample  list  of  the  opinions  of  interpre- 
ters, and  of  the  reasons  adduced  by  each  in  support 
of  his  own.  We  could  tell  you,  first,  how  it  is  al- 
leged by  some  that  t\\Q?>e  fourteen  years  denote  the 
lime  elapsed  from  the  conversion  of  St  Paul,  and 
that  his  rapture  took  place  during  i\io?>e  three  days 
in  v/liich  he  was  without  sights  and  did  neither  eat  nor 
drink^' Acts  ix.  9.  and  to  this  purpose  we  could  quote 
Capel,  Lira,  Cave,  Tostat,  and  many  other  authors2 
unknown  to  the  greater  part  of  my  audience. 

We  m.ight  add,  that  some  other  commentators  re- 
fer this,  epoch  to  tlie  eighth  year  after  St  Paul's 
conversion  to  Christianity,  the  forty-fourth  of  Jesus 
Christ,  and  the  twelfth  after  his  death. 

We  could  shew  you  how  others  insist,  with  a 
greater  air  of  probability,  that  the  apostle  enjoyed 
this  heavenly  vision,  wlien,  after  his  contention  v^ith 
Barnabas,  humiliatir.g  instance  of  the  infirmity  of 
the  greatest  saints,  he  prosecuted  his  ministry  in  a 
different  track.  Those  who  adopt  this  opinion,  al- 
lege. 


The  Rapture  of  St  Paul  2S1 

lege,  in  support  of  it,  the  words  of  St  Paul  in  chap, 
xxii.  of  the  Acts,  ver.  17.  "It  came  to  pass,  that 
when  1  was  come  again  to  Jerusalem,  even  while  I 
prayed  in  the  temple,  I  was  in  a  trance."  But  disqui- 
sitions of  this  sort  are  unworthy  of  the  place  which 
I  now  have  the  honour  to  fill.  I  have  matters  of 
much  higher  importance  to  propose  to  you. 

2.  The  manner  of  St  Paul's  rapture  stands  in  need, 
perhaps,  of  some  elucidation.  He  has  expressed  it 
in  terms  very  much  calculated  to  check  curiosity. 
"  Whether  in  the  body,  I  cannot  tell ;  or  whether 
out  of  the  body,  I  cannot  tell."  We,  accordingly, 
presume  not  to  pursue  researches  on  points  respect- 
ing which  the  apostle  himself  professes  ignorance. 

Let  it  only  be  remarked,  that  God  was  pleased,  in 
former  times,  to  manifest  himself  in  many  different 
manners.  Sometimes  it  was  by  a  voice;  witness  that 
which  issued  out  of  the  cloud,  Exod.  xvi.  10.  wit- 
ness that  which  addressed  Moses  from  the  burning 
bush,  Exod.  iii.  4<  witness  that  which  thundered 
from  Mount  Sinai  at  the  giving  of  the  law,  Exodo 
xix.  16.  witness  that  which  answered  Job  out  of  the 
whirlwind,  ch.  xxxviii.  1.  witness  that  from  abovQ 
the  mercy-seat,  Exod.  xxv,  22. 

He  was  pleased  at  other  times,  to  reveal  himself 
in  dreams  and  visions  qf  the  night ;  as  to  Jacob  at 
Bethel,  Gen.  xxviii.  12.  to  Abimelech^  Gen.  xx.  3. 
and  to  Pharaoh's  butler.  Gen.  xl.  9. 

He  sometimes  manifested  himself  in  visions  to 
persons  awake.  Thus  he  presented  to  Moses  in 
Horeb  a  bush  burning  with  fire  yet  unconsumed, 
Exod.  iii.  4.  to  Balaam,  an  angel  with  his  sword 
drawn  in  his  hand.  Num.  xxii.  31.  to  Joshua,  the 
captain  ot  the  Lord's  Host,  Jos.  v.  15. 

He  sometimes  communicated  himself  to  men 
through  the  medium  of  inspiration,  accompanied 
with  emotions  which  constrained  tlicm  to  speak  out. 
This  was  the  case  with  Jeremiah,  as  we  read.,  chap. 
"sx.  8,  f.^  «'  The  word  of  the  Lord  was  made  a  re- 

proac!' 


232  The  Rapture  of  Si  FauL 

proach  unto  me,  and  a  derision  daily.  Then  I  said, 
I  will  not  make  mention  of  him,  nor  speak  any  more 
in  his  name.  But  his  word  was  in  mine  lieart  as  a 
burning  fire  shut  up  in  my  bones,  and  I  was  weary 
\vith  forbearing." 

Bat  of  all  those  miraculous  dispensations,  the  most 
noble  and  exalted  was  that  of  rapture  or  extasij,  ^^y 
the  term  extasij  w^e  mean  that  powerful  conflict,  that 
concentration  of  thought,  that  profound  intenseness 
of  mental  application,  under  the  influence  of  which 
the  enraptured  person  is  emancipated  from  the  com- 
munications of  the  senses,  forgets  his  body,  and  is 
completely  absorbed  of  the  object  of  his  meditation. 

Rapture  is  perhaps  a  degree  superior  to  extasy. 
Sometimes  it  affects  the  mind.  This  is  the  case  when 
God,  in  virtue  of  that  sovereign  power  which  he  pos- 
sesses over  the  soul  of  man,  excites  in  it  the  same 
ideas,  causes  it  to  perceive  the  same  objects,  with 
which  it  would  be  struck,  were  the  body,  to  whicli 
it  is  united,  really  in  a  place  from  whence  it  is  ex- 
tremely remote.  It  is  thus  that  we  must  explain  tliC 
rapture  of  the  prophet  Ezekiel,  chap.  viii.  3.  and 
that  of  which  St  John  speaks  in  the  book  of  Reve- 
lation, chap.  i.  10. 

^  It  sometimes  affects  the  lody.  This  was  the  case 
of  Philip,  who,  after  he  had  converted  to  the  faith  of 
Christ  the  eunuch  of  Candace,  queen  of  the  Ethio- 
pians, and  baptized  him,  was  "  caught  away  by  the 
Spirit  of  the  Lord,  that  the  eunuch  saw  him  no 
more,"  Acts  viii.  39. 

Though  St  Paul  has  spoken  very  sparingly  of  the 
manner  in  which  God  was  pleased  to  reveal  himself 
to  him,  he  has  said  enough  to  shew  that  it  is  holy 
rapture  he  mieans.  ;  But  whether  it  were  that  v/hich 
transported  the  body  into  another  place,  or  that 
which  transported  the  mind  only :  nay,  whether  there 
be  a  real  difference  betv>'een  rapture  and  extasy,  no 
one  can  pretend  to  determine,  without  incurring 
the  charge  of  presumption.  The  apostle  himself 
declares   that    it   surpassed   his   own    knovvledge  ; 

whether 


The  Raphire  of  St  Paul  233- 

^^  whether  in  the  body,  I  cannot  tell ;  or  whether 
out  of  the  body,  I  cannot  tell :  God  knoweth,  such 

an  one  caught  up  to  the  third  heaven caught  up 

into  paradise." 

3.  The  third  heaven^  paradise  :  another  subject  of 
elucidation.  The  third  heaven  is  the  habitation  of 
the  blessed;  that  in  which  God  displays  the  most 
splendid  and  glorious  tokens  of  his  presence  :  this 
is  disputed  by  no  one.  But  the  other  expresssion 
employed  by  St  Paul,  caught  up  into  paradise,  has  fur- 
nished matter  for  controversy  among  the  learned. 
It  has  long  been  made  a  question  whether  paradise 
and  the  third  heaven  denoted  one  and  the  same 
place.  Certain  modern  interpreters  have  main- 
tained the  negative,  with  excessive  warmth.  A  great 
number  of  the  ancient  fathers  had  adopted  the  same 
opinion.  They  considered  paradise  as  a  mansion  in 
which  the  soul  resided  till  the  resurrection,  and  they 
distinguished  it  from  heaven.  Justin  Martyr,  dis- 
puting with  Tryphon,  condemns,  as  equally  errone- 
ous, tlie  denying  of  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection, 
and  the  opinion  which  supposes  that  the  souls  of  men 
go  to  God  immediately  after  death.  In  this  they 
followed  the  prejudices  of  the  Jews.  Many  of  them 
believe  that  the  souls  of  good  people  are  translated 
to  the  garden  of  Eden,  to  wait  for  the  day  of  the  re- 
surrection ;  they  accordingly  employ  this  form  of 
prayer  for  dying  persons  :  "  May  his  soul  be  re- 
'^  ceived  into  the  garden  of  Eden  ;  may  he  have  his 
''  part  into  paradise  ;  may  he  repose,  and  sleep  in 
"  peace  till  the  coming  of  the  Comforter,  who  shall 
"  speak  peace  to  the  fathers.  O  ye  to  whom  the 
"  treasures  of  paradise  are  committed,  open  now  its 
"  gates  that  he  may  enter  in.'' 

But  this  error,  however  long  it  may  have  subsisted, 
and  by  whatever  great  names  it  may  have  been  main- 
tained, is  nevertheless  an  error,  as   might  be  de- 
monstrated by  more  arguments  than  w^e  have  now- 
leisure 


^34  The  Rapture  of  St  Paul 

leisure  to  adduce.  You  have  only  to  read  the  prayer 
v/hich  Jesus  Christ  addressed  to  his  Father  a  little 
before  his  death,  where  you  will  find  him  demand- 
ing immediate  admission  into  the  heavenly  felicity. 
He  says,  likewise,  to  the  penitent  thief  on  the  cross. 
Verily  I  say  imto  thee,  to-day  thou  shalt  he  with  me  in 
paradise,  Luke  xxiii.  43.  Paradise,  therefore,  is 
the  place  in  which  God  displays  the  inost  august 
symbols  of  his  presence,  and  is  not  different  from 
the  third  heaven. 

Now,  if  it  be  asked,  why  this  name  is  given  to  the 
third  heaven,  it  will  be  necessary  to  recur  to  its  first 
original.  Persons  who  have  applied  to  the  dry  study 
of  Etymology  assure  us  that  the  word  is  of  Persian 
extraction,  and  that  the  Persians  gave  the  name  of 
Paradise  to  the  parks  and  gardens  of  their  kings.  It 
came  in  process  of  time  to  denote  all  placos  of  a 
similar  description.  It  passed  from  the  Persians  to 
the  Greeks,  to  the  Hebrews,  to  the  Latins  *.  We 
iind  it  employed  in  this  sense  in  Nehemiah  ii.  8.  in 
Ecclesiastes  ii.  5.  in  many  profane  Authors  ;  and 
^\^  Jews  gave  this  name  to  the  garden  of  Eden  iii 
which  Adam  was  placed.  You  will  find  it  in  the 
second  chapter  of  the  Book  of  Genesis.  Biit 
enough,  and  more  tiian  enough,  has  been  suggested 
on  this  liead^ 

4.  There  is  but  one  particular  more  that  requires 
some  elucidation.  1  knew  a  man,  adds  the  apostle, 
v/ho  hea.d  unspeakable  words,  which  it  .-5  not  lawfidfbr 
a  man  to  utter,  lo  see  things,  and  to  hear  xcords,  are, 
in  the  style  of  the  sacred  writers,  frequently  used  as 
phrases  of  similar  import,  and  it  is  not  on  this 
ground  that  the  difficulty  of  the  present  article  pres- 
ses. But,  what  can  be  the  meaning  of  the  apostle, 
when  he  asserts  that  the  words  which  he  heard,  or 
the  things  which  he  saw,  are  unspeakable,  and  which 

it 

*  Pollux  Onomast. 


The  Rapture  of  St  Paul  235 

U  is  not  laxifulfor  a  man  to  utter  ?  Had  lie  been  laid 
under  a  prohibition  to  reveal  the  particulars  of  his 
vision  ?  Had  he  lost  the  ideas  of  it  ?  Or  were  the 
things  wliich  he  heard  and  saw  of  such  a  nature  as 
to  be  absolutely  inexpressible  by  mortal  lips  ?  There 
is  some  plausible  reasoning  that  may  be  employed 
in  support  of  each  of  the  three  opinions. 

The  first  has  numerous  partisans.  Their  belief  is 
that  God  had  revealed  mysteries  to  St  Paul,  but 
with  a  prohibition  to  disclose  them  to  the  world ; 
theybelieve  that  the  Apostle,  after  havingbeen  wrapt 
into  the  third  heaven,  had  received  a  charge  similar 
to  that  which  was  given  to  St  John,  in  a  like  situa- 
tion, and  which  is  transmitted  to  us  in  chap.  x.  of 
the  Book  of  Revelation,  4th  verse.  Seal  up  those 
things  which  the  seven  thunders  uttered^  and  write  them 
not.  Thus  it  was  that  the  Pagans  denominated  cer- 
tain of  their  mysteries  ineffal)le^  because  it  was  for- 
bidden to  reveal  them.  Thus,  too,  the  Jews  called 
the  name  of  Jehovah  i?ieffable,  hecsmse  it  was  unlaw- 
ful to  pronounce  it. 

The  second  opinion  is  not  destitute  of  probability. 
As  the  soul  of  8t  Paul  had  no  sensible  intercourse 
with  his  body,  during  this  rapture,  it  is  not  unlikely, 
that  the  objects  which  struck  him,  having  left  no 
trace  in  the  brain,  he  lost  the  recollection  of  a  great 
part  of  what  he  had  seen. 

But  we  are  under  no  obligation  to  restrict  ourselves 
to  either  of  these  senses.  The  words  of  the  original 
translated  unspeakaljle^  xvhich  it  is  not  lawful  for  a  man 
to  utter,  frequently  denote  that  which  is  not  of  a 
nature  to  be  explained  :  thus  it  is  said,  that  the  Spirit 
maketh  intercession  for  us,  withgroanings  which  cannot  be 
uttered,  Rom.  viii.  26.  Thus,  too,  St  Peter  men- 
tions cXJOTj  unspeakable  and  fiUl  of  glory,  chap.  i.  8. 
and  we  shall  presently  see  that  the  heavenly  felicity 
is,  in  this  sense,  unspeakable. 

Again,  among  those  who  have  pursued  researches, 
respecting  the  things  which  St  Paul  declares  to  be 

wispeaJcable^ 


^S6  The  Rapture  of  St  Paid. 

tmspealcable,  some  have  pretended  to  tell  us,  that  he 
means  the  divine  essence  :  others,  that  it  was  the 
Hierarchal  order  ofthe  celestial  intelligences;  others, 
that  it  was  the  beauty  and  excellency  of  glorified 
souls  ;  others,  that  it  was  the  mystery  ofthe  rejec- 
tion ofthe  Jewish  nation,  and  ofthe  calling  of  the 
Gentiles  ;  others,  that  it  was  the  destination  of  the 
Christian  church  through  its  successive  periods. 
But  wherefore  should  we  attempt  to  ^x  precise  li- 
mits to  the  things  which  our  apostle  heard  and  saw  ? 
He  v/as  wrapt  up  to  the  very  seat  of  the  blessed  ;  and 
he  there,  undoubtedly,  partook  of  the  felicity  which 
they  enjoy. 

Had  men  employed  their  imagination  only  on 
the  discussion  of  this  question,  no  great  harm  could 
have  ensued.  But  it  is  impossible  to  behold  without 
indignation,  the  inventors  of  fictitious  pieces  car- 
rying their  insolence  so  far,  as  to  forge  writings, 
v/hich  they  ascribed  to  the  Spirit  of  God  himself,  and 
in  which  tliey  pretended  those  mysteries  were  ex- 
plained. St  Epiphanius  relates  *,  that  certain  an- 
cient heretics,  these  were  the  Gaianites,  or  Camiles, 
liad  invented  a  book,  which  was  afterwards  adopted 
by  the  Gnostics.  They  gave  it  the  name  of  J  lie  As- 
ceiiuon  of  St  Paul.,  and  presume  to  allege,  that  this 
book  discovered  sN\\2itt\\o^t  unspeakable  things  were, 
which  the  apostle  had  heard  t-  St  Augustin  speaks 
ofthe  same  work,  as  a  gross  imposture.  Nicepho- 
rus  tells  us  t,  that  a  story  was  current,  under,  the 
emperor  Theodosius,  of  the  discovery,  in  the  house 
of  St  Paul  at  Tarsus,  of  a  marble  chest,  buried  in 
the  earth,  and  which  contained  the  Apocaljjpse  of  St 
Paul,  He  himself  refutes  this  fiction,  by  the  testi- 
mony of  a  man  of  Tarsus,  a  member  of  the  Pres- 
bytery. 

The 

*  HEcres.  38. 

•f-  Treatise  98.  on  St  .Toha. 

X  Hist.  Eccles.  lib.  xii.  cap.  34, 


The  Rapture  of  St  Paul.  237 

The  impostor,  who  is  the  Author  of  the  work  as- 
cribed to  Dionysius  the  Areopagite,  and  who  .gives 
himself  out  as  that  illustrious  proselyte  of  our  apos- 
tle, boasts  of  his  having  heard  him  relate  wonderful 
things,  respecting  the  nature,  the  glory,  the  gifts, 
the  beauty  of  angels  ;  and  upon  this  testimony  it  is 
that  he  founds  the  chimerical  idea  which  he  has 
given  us  of  the  celestial  hierarchy. 

But  let  us  have  done  with  all  these  frivolous  con- 
jectures, with  all  these  impious  fictions.  We  are 
going  to  propose  much  nobler  objects  to  your  medi- 
tation, and  to  examine,  as  has  been  said,  this  singu- 
lar, but  interesting  question.  Wherefore  is  the  celes- 
tial glory  of  such  a  nature  as  to  defy  description  ? 
Why  is  it  not  lawful  for  a  man  to  utter  them  ?  We 
are  going  to  avail  ourselves  of  this  very  inability  to 
describe  these  gloriously  unspeakable  things,  as  the 
means  of  conveying  to  you  exalted  ideas  of  them, 
and  of  kindling  in  your  souls  more  ardent  desires 
after  the  possession  of  them.  This  shall  be  the  sub- 
ject of  the  second  part  of  our  discourse. 


SERMON 


BERMON  VIII. 

PART  II. 

The  Rapfure  of  St  Paul 

2  Cor.  xil.  2,  3,  4. 

/  knew  a  man  in  Christ  above  fourteen  years  ago  Qinhe- 
ther  in  the  hody^  J  cannot  tell :  or  whether  out  of 
the  body^  I  cannot  tell :  God  knoi^eth ;)  such  an  one 
caught  up  to  the  third  heaven.  And  I  knew  such  a 
man,  (whether  in  the  bodij,  or  out  of  the  body,  1  can^ 
not  tell :  God  knoweth  ;)  how  that  he  was  caught  up 
into  paradise,  and  heard  unspeakable  w'ords,  w'hich  it 
is  not  lawful  for  a  man  to  utter, 

HAVING  presented  you  with  some  brief  eluci- 
dations of  the  expressions  of  the  text,  namely, 
1.  respecting  the  era  to  which  reference  is  here 
made  j  /  knew  a  man  in  Chy^ist  above  Jouneen  years 
ago :    2,   respecting  the  manner  of  his   rapture ; 
m      ^  ^*  whether 


240  The  Rapture  of  St  Paul, 

xvhether  in  the  hodij^  I  cannot  tell :  or  out  of  the  hody^  I 
catinottell:  God  knoweth :  3.  Respecting  the  place  to 
which  Paul  was  caught;  Faradise^i\\Q  third  heaven: 
and,  4.  Respecting  what  he  there  saw  and  heard;  zm- 
speakable  xzords^  which  it  is  not  laufidfor  a  man  to  utter : 
We  proceed  to, 

11.  The  second  general  head,  namely,  to  inquire. 
Whether  the  silence  of  scripture  on  the  subject  of 
a  state  of  future  happiness,  suggests  any  thing  that 
has  a  tendency  to  cool  our  ardour  in  the  pursuit  of 
it ;  or.  Whether  this  very  vail,  which  conceals  the 
paradise  of  God  from  our  eyes,  is  not  above  all  things 
calculated  to  convey  the  most  exalted  ideas  of  it. 

We  refer  the  felicity  of  the  blessed  in  heaven  to 
three  general  notions.  The  blessed  in  heaven  pos- 
sess, 1.  Superior  illumination:  2.  They  are  prompted 
by  inclinations  the  most  noble  and  refined  :  3.  They 
enjoy  the  purest  sensible  pleasures.  A  defect  of  ge- 
nius prevents  our  ability  to  partake  of  their  illumi- 
nation :  a  defect  of  taste  prevents  our  adopting  their 
inclinations  ;  a  defect  of  faculty  prevents  our  percep- 
tion of  their  pleasures.  In  these  three  respects,  the 
celestial  felicity  is  imspeaJcable :  in  these  three  respects 
it  is  not  lawful  for  a  man  to  idler  it, 

1.  The  blessed  in  heaven  possess  superior  illumi- 
nation  :  a  defect  of  genius  prevents  our  participation 
of  it. 

^Yhile  we  are  in  this  world,  we  are  deficient  in 
many  ideas.  Properly  speaking  we  have  ideas  of 
two  kinds  only :  that  of  body,  and  that  of  spirit. 
The  combination  of  those  two  ideas  forms  all  our 
perceptions,  all  our  speculations,  the  whole  body  of 
our  knowledge.  And  whatever  eilbrts  may  have 
been  made  by  certain  philosophers  to  prove  that  we 
are  acquainted  with  beings  intermediate  between 
mind  and  matter,  they  have  never  been  able  to  per- 

2       0  suade 


The  Rapture  of  Si  Paul.  241 

suade  others  of  it,  and  probably  entertained  no  such 
persuasion  themselves.  But  if  all  beings  which  are 
within  the  sphere  of  our  knowledge  be  referable  to 
these  two  ideas,  where  is  the  person  who  is  bold 
enough  to  affirm  that  there  are  in  fact  no  others  ? 
Where  is  the  man  who  dares  to  maintain,  that  the 
creation  of  bodies,  and  that  of  spirits,  have  exhaust- 
ed the  omnipotence  of  the  Creator  ?  Who  shall  pre- 
sume to  affirm  that  this  infinite  intelhgence,  to  whom 
the  universe  is  indebted  for  its  existence,  could  find 
only  two  ideas  in  his  treasures  ? 

May  it  not  be  possible  that  the  blessed  in  heaven, 
have  the  idea  of  certain  beings  which  possess  no 
manner  of  relation  to  any  thing  of  which  we  have  a 
conception  upon  earth  ?  May  it  not  be  possible  that 
God  impressed  this  idea  on  the  soul  of  St  Paul  ? 
May  not  this  be  one  of  the  reasons  of  the  impossi- 
bility to  which  he  is  reduced,  of  describing  what  he 
had  seen  ?  For  when  we  speak  to  other  men,  we  go 
on  the  supposition  that  they  have  souls  similar  to 
our  own,  endowed  with  the  same  faculties,  enriched 
with  the  same  sources  of  thought.  We  possess  cer- 
tain signs,  certain  words  to  express  our  conceptions. 
We  oblio^e  our  fellow  men  to  retire  within  them- 
selves,  to  follow  up  their  principles,  to  examine  their 
notions.  It  is  thus  w^e  are  enabled  to  communicate 
our  notions  to  each  other.  But  this  is  absolutely 
in)practicable  with  regard  to  those  beings  who  may 
be  known  to  the  blessed  above.  There  is  in  this  re- 
spect, no  notion  in  common  to  us  and  them.  We 
have  no  term  by  v^hich  to  express  them.  God  him- 
self alone  has  the  power  of  impressing  new  ideas  on 
the  soul  of  man.  All  that  men  can  do  is  to  render 
us  attentive  to  those  which  we  already  have,  and  to 
assist  us  in  unfolding  theuj. 

Besides,  so  long  as  we  are  upon  earth,  we  have 
but  a  very  imperfect  knowledge  of  the  two  orders  of 
beinos,  to  which  all  our  knowledi^e  is  confined. 
Our  ideas  are  incomplete.     W"e  have  only  a  very 

VOL.  Yi.  #      11  imperfect 


^42  The  Rapture  of  St  Paul 

imperfect  perception  of  body,  and  of  spirit.       We 
have, 

(l)  Very  imperfect  ideas  of  body^  And  without 
entering  here  into  the  discussion  of  the  endless  me- 
taphysical questions  of  which  the  subject  admits, 
and,  in  order  to  convey  an  example  of  it,  brought 
down  to  the  level  of  the  meanest  capacity,  the  mag- 
nitude of  bodies,  and  their  smaUness,  almost  equal- 
ly exceed  our  comprehension.  We  begin  with  form- 
ing to  ourselves  the  idea  of  a  portion  of  matter  ;  we 
divide  it  into  minute  particles;  we  reduce  it  to 
powder,  till  the  particles  become  entirely  impercep- 
tible to  our  senses.  When  the  senses  fail,  w^e  have 
recourse  to  imagination.  We  subdivide,  in  imagi- 
nation, that  same  portion  of  matter,  particle  after 
particle^  till  it  is  reduced  to  such  a  degree  of  mi- 
nuteness, as  to  escape  imagination,  as  it  had  eluded 
the  senses.  After  the  senses  and  the  imagination 
have  been  stretched  to  the  uttermost,  we  call  in 
thought  to  our  aid  :  we  consult  the  idea  which  we 
have  of  matter;  we  subject  it  to  a  new  subdivision 
in  thought.  Thought  transcends  imagination  and 
the  senses.  But  after  having  pursued  it  to  a  certain 
point,  we  find  thought  absorbed  in  its  turn,  and  we 
feel  ourselves  eouall}''  lost,  whether  we  are  disposed 
to  admit  an  infinite  progression  in  this  division,  or 
whether  we  are  disposed  to  stop  at  a  certain  deter- 
minate point. 

What  we  have  said  of  the  small ness  of  bodies, 
holds  equally  true  of  their  immensity  of  magnitude. 
We  are  able,  with  the  help  of  the  senses  of  the  ima- 
gination, and  of  thought,  to  increase  a  mass  of  mat- 
ter, to  suppose  it  still  greater,  to  conceive  it  still  ex- 
ceeding the  former  magnitude.  But  after  we  have 
acted,  imagined,  reflected  ;  and,  after  we  have  risen 
in  thought  to  a  certain  degree  of  extension,  were  we 
disposed  to  go  on  to  the  conception  of  one  still 
greater,  we  should  at  length  feel  ourselves  absorbed 

♦  in 


The  Rapture  of  St  Paul  243 

in  the  inconceivable  magnitude  of  matter,  as  it  had 
eluded  our  pursuit  by  its  minuteness.  So  incom- 
plete are  our  ideas  even  of  matter.     And  if  so  then, 

(2)  How  much  more  imperfect  still  is  our  know- 
ledge of  what  relates  to  mind  !  Who  ever  presum- 
ed to  unfold  all  that  a  spirit  is  capable  of  ?  Who 
has  ever  determined  the  connection  which  subsists 
within  us,  between  the  faculty  which  feels,  and  that 
which  reflects  ?  Who  has  ever  discovered  the  man- 
ner in  which  one  spirit  is  enabled  to  communicate 
its  feelings  and  reflections  to  another?  Who  has 
formed  a  conception  of  the  means  by  which  a  spirit 
becomes  capable  of  acting  upon  a  body,  and  a  body 
upon  a  spirit  ?  It  is  to  me  then  demonstrably  cer- 
tain, that  we  know  but  in  an  imperfect  manner,  the 
v^ry  things  of  which  we  have  any  ideas  at  all. 

The  blessed  in  heaven  have  complete  ideas  of 
these;  they  penetrate  into  the  minutest  particles 
of  matter  ;  they  discern  all  the  wonders,  all  the  la- 
tent springs,  all  the  subtilty  of  the  smallest  parts  of 
body,  which  contain  worlds  in  miniature,  an  epi- 
tome of  the  great  universe,  and  not  less  calculated 
to  excite  admiration  of  the  wisdom  of  the  Creator  *  ; 
they  traverse  that  immensity  of  space,  those  celes- 
tial globes,  those  immeasurable  spheres,  the  existence 
of  which  it  is  impossible  for  us  to  call  in  question, 
but  whose  enormous  mass  and  countless  multitude 
confound  and  overwhelm  us.  The  blessed  in  hea- 
ven know  the  nature  of  spirits,  their  facullies,  their 
relations,  their  intercourse,  their  laws.  But  all  this 
is  inexplicable.  Is  any  one  capable  of  changing  our 
senses  ?  Is  any  one  capable  of  giving  a  more  exten- 
sive range  to  our  imagination  ?  Is  it  possible  to  re- 


move  the  barriers  which  limit  thon«:ht  ? 


b' 


Whil^ 


*  For  a  further  illustration  of  this  part  of  the  subject,  the  Phllo- 
sophical  and  Christian  Reader  is  referred  to  the  Letters  of  Euler  to 
a  German  Princess,  Letter  L  Vol.  \.  publislied  bv  the  Translator  of 
this  Volume,  1794. 


244  The  Rapture  of  Si  Paul. 

While  we  are  on  the  earth,  we  discern  but  \rery 
imperfectly  the  relations  which  subsist  even  between 
the  things  which  we  do  know.  Contracted,  incom- 
plete as  our  ideas  are,  we  should  nevertheless,  make 
some  progress  in  our  researches  after  truth,  had  we 
the  power  of  reflecting,  of  recollection,  of  fixing  our 
attention  to  a  certain  degree,  of  comparing  beings 
with  each  other,  and  thus  advancing  from  those 
which  we  already  know,  to  those  with  which  we  are 
hitherto  unacquainted.  Men  are  more  or  less  intel- 
ligent, according  as  they  are  in  the  habit  of  being 
more  or  less  attentive.  A  man  brought  up  in  the 
midst  of  noise,  in  tumult  ;  a  man  whom  tumult  and 
noise  pursue  wherever  he  goes,  is  incapable  of  com- 
posed recollection,  because  carrying  always  in  him- 
self a  source  of  distraction,  he  becomes  incapable  of 
profound  reflection  upon  any  one  object  abstracted 
from  and  unconnected  with  matter  But  a  philoso* 
pher  accustomed  to  meditate,  is  able  to  follow  up  a 
principle  to  a  degree  totally  inaccessible  to  the  other. 
Nevertheless,  whatever  a  man's  attainments  may  be 
in  the  art  of  attention,  it  must  always  be  contracted 
within  very  narrow  limits  :  because  we  still  consist 
in  part,  of  body  ;  because  this  body  is  ever  exciting 
sensations  in  the  soul  ;  because  the  soul  is  continual- 
ly distracted  by  hese  sensations  ;  because  that,  in 
order  to  meditate,  there  is  occasion  for  a  great  con- 
course of  the  spirits  necessary  to  the  support  of  the 
bod}^  so  that  attention  wearied  out,  exhausted,  does 
violence  to  that  body  ;  to  such  a  degree  that  if,  by 
the  aid  of  an  extraordinary  concourse  of  spirits,  we 
should  be  disposed  to  exert  the  brain  beyond  a  cer- 
tain pitch,  the  effort  would  prove  fatal  to  us. 

The  blessed  in  heaven  are  not  liable  to  have  their 
attention  disturbed  by  the  action  of  the  senses.  St 
Paul  by  means  of  a  supernatural  interposition,  had 
his  soul,  if  not  separated  from  the  body,  (for  he 
himself  knows  not  whether  his  rapture  were  i7i  the 
bodif^  or  out  of  the  bodtj^^  at  least  emancipated  from 
that  continual  distraction  to  which  it  is  subject,  in 

virtue 


The  Rapture  of  St  Paul  245 

virtue  of  its  union  with  matter.  He  could  be  self^ 
collected,  attentive,  absorbed  of  the  objects  which 
God  presented  to  his  mind.  He  coukl  discern  the 
mutual  relation  of  the  designs  of  eternal  wisdom, 
the  harmony  of  the  works  of  God,  the  concatenation 
of  his  purposes,  the  combination  of  his  attributes  : 
sublime  objects  which  he  could  not  possibly  display 
to  men  incapable  of  that  degree  of  attention,  with- 
out which  no  conception  can  be  formed  of  those  ob- 
jects. 

Does  not  this  first  reason,  my  beloved  brethren, 
of  our  apostle's  silence  on  the  subject  of  the  heaven- 
ly felicity,  already  produce  on  your  souls,  the  ef- 
fect at  which  this  discourse  is  principally  aiming? 
Has  it  not  already  kindled  within  you  an  ardent  de- 
sire to  attain  that  felicity  ?  Soul  of  man,  susceptible 
of  so  many  ideas,  of  such  enlarged  knowledge,  of 
illumination  so  unbounded,  is  it  possible  for  thee  to 
sojourn  without  reluctance,  in  a  body  which  nar- 
rows thy  sphere,  and  cramps  thy  nobler  faculties? 
Philosopher,  who  art  straining  every  nerve,  who 
givest  thyself  no  rest  to  attain  a  degree  of  know^- 
ledge  incompatible  with  the  condition  of  humanity  i 
Geometrician,  who,  after  an  incredible  expeme  o( 
thought,  of  meditation,  of  reflection,  art  able  to  at* 
tain,  at  most  the  knowledge  of  the  relations  of  a 
circle  or  of  a  triangle  :  Theologian,  who,  after  so 
many  days  of  labour  and  nights  of  watching,  hast 
scarcely  arrived  at  the  capacity  of  explaining  a  few 
passages  of  holy  writ,  of  correcting,  by  an  effort, 
some  silly  prejudice:  wretched  mortals,  how  much 
are  you  to  be  pitied  !  how  impotent  and  ineffectual 
are  all  exertions  to  acquire  real  knowledge  I  1  think 
I  am  beholding  one  of  those  animals,  the  thickness 
of  whose  blood,  the  grossness  of  whose  humours, 
the  incumbrance  of  that  house  with  which  nature 
loads  them,  preventing  them  from  moving  with  fa- 
cility; I  think  I  am  beholding  one  of  those  animals, 
striving  to  move  over  an  immense  space  in  a  little, 

little 


9^6  The  Rapture  of  S^  PauL 

little  hour.  He  strains,  he  bustles,  he  toils,  he  flat- 
ters himself  with  having  made  a  mighty  progress, 
he  exults  in  the  thought  of  attaining  the  end  which 
he  had  proposed.  The  hour  elapses,  and  the  pro- 
gress which  he  has  made  is  a  mere  nothing,  compar- 
ed with  the  immensity  of  the  space  still  untrodden. 

Thus,  loaded  with  a  body  replenished  with  gross 
humours,  retarded  by  matter,  we  are  able  in  the 
course  of  the  longest  life,  to  acquire  but  a  very  slen- 
der and  imperfect  degree  of  knowledge.  This  body 
must  drop  :  this  spirit  must  disengage  itself  before 
it  can  become  capable  of  soaring  unincumbered,  of 
penetrating  into  futurity,  and  of  attaining  that 
height  and  depth  of  knowledge  which  the  blessed  in 
heaven  possess. 

Not  only  from  revelation  do  we  derive  these  ideas, 
not  even  from  reason,  in  its  present  high  state  of 
improvement :  they  were  entertained  in  the  ancient 
Pagan  world.  We  find  this  subject  profoundly 
investigated,  I  had  almost  said  exhausted  in  the 
Phsedon  of  Plato.  Socrates  considers  his  body  as 
the  greatest  obstacle  in  the  way  of  seeking  after 
truth.  And  this  brings  to  my  recollection  the  beau- 
tiful expression  of  a  certain  Anchorite,  to  the  same 
purpose:  extenuated,  infirm,  sinking  under  a  load 
of  years,  on  the  point  of  expiring,  he  breaks  out  in- 
to singing.  He  is  asked,  Wherefore  singest  thou  ? 
''  Ah  !  I  sing,"  says  he,  "  because  I  see  that  wall 
**'  (umbling  down,  which  hinders  me  from  behold- 
"  ing  the  face  of  God. '^  Yes,  this  body  is  a  wall 
which  prevents  our  seeing  God.  Fall  down,  fall 
dov»^n,  interposing  invidious  wall  ;  fall  down  impe- 
netrable wall,  and  then  we  shall  see  God.  But  to 
min  in  his  present  state,  to  man  loaded  with  a  body 
ii'kc  this,  the  illfiminaiion  of  the  blessed  in  heaven,  is 
among  the  things  which  are  unspeakable. 

2.  The  blessed  in  heaven  are  prompted  by  inclinU' 
fhns  the  most  noble   and  refined  :  a  dcft'ct  of  taste 

prevents 


The  Rapture  of  St  Paul  247 

prevents  our  adopting  and  enjoying  the  same  incli- 
nations. 

All  tastes  are  not  similar.  Men  agree  tolerably 
well  in  the  vague  notions  of  honour,  of  pleasure,  of 
generosity,  of  nobility.  But  that  which  appears 
pleasure  to  one,  is  insupportable  to  another :  that 
which  appears  noble,  generous  to  one,  appears 
mean,  grovelling,  contemptible  to  another.  So  that 
the  idea  which  you  might  suggest  lo  your  neigh- 
bour, of  a  pleasant  and  desirable  mode  of  living, 
might,  in  all  probabihty,  convey  to  him  ideas  of  life 
the  most  odious  and  disgusting. 

Who  is  able  to  make  a  man  plunged  in  business 
to  comprehend,  that  there  is  pleasr.  e  inexpressible 
in  studying  truth,  in  making  additions  to  a  stock  of 
knowledge,  in  diving  into  mysteries?  Who  is  able 
to  persuade  a  miser,  thpt  there  is  a  delight  which 
nothing  can  equal,  in  relieving  the  miserable,  in  mi- 
nistering to  their  necessities,  in  sharing  fortunes  with 
them,  and  thus,  to  use  the  expression  of  scripture, 
to  draw  nigh  to  a  man's  ozi:n  flesh  ?  Isa.  Iviii.  7. 
Who  is  able  to  convince  a  grovelling  and  dastardly 
soul,  that  there  is  joy  to  be  found  in  pursuing  glory 
through  clouds  of  smoke  and  showers  of  iron,  in 
braving  inbtant  and  certain  dangers,  in  bidding  de- 
fiance to  almost  inevitable  death?  In  general,  what 
arguments  are  sufficient  to  convince  a  worldling, 
that  the  purest  and  most  perfect  delights  are  to  be 
enjoyed  in  exercises  of  devotion,  in  those  effusions 
of  the  heart,  in  that  emptying  us  of  ourselves,  of 
which  the  saints  of  (jod  have  given  us  such  warm 
recommendations,  and  such  amid^le  examples.'' 
"  These  are  the  things  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  which 
the  natural  man  receiveth  not,  because  they  are 
spiritually  discerned/'  1  Cor.  ii.  14.  because  he  is 
destitute  of  that  taste,  which  alone  can  enable  hini 
to  relish  their  charms. 

Now,  my  brethren,  although  the  love  of  God  be 
the  principle  of  all  the  exalted  virtuesj  possessed  by 

the 


§48  The  Rapture  of  St  Paul. 

the  saints  in  glory,  as  well  as  by  those  who  remain 
still  on  the  earth  ;  although  both  agree  in  this  ge- 
neral and  vague  notion,  that  to  love  God  is  the  su- 
blimity of  virtue  ;  nevertheless,  there  is  a  distance  so 
inconceivable,  between  the  love  which  we  have  for 
God  on  the  earth,  and  that  which  inspires  the  bless- 
ed in  heaven,  that  inclinations  entirely  different  re- 
sult from  it. 

We  know  God  very  imperfectly  while  we  are  up- 
on the  earth,  and  our  love  to  him  is  in  proportion  to 
the  imperfection  of  our  knowledge.  To  come  to 
his  holy  temple,  to  hearken  to  his  word,  to  sing  his 
praises,  to  administer  and  to  partake  of  his  sacra- 
mental ordinances  :  to  pant  after  a  union  of  which 
Ave  cannot  so  much  as  form  an  idea,  to  practise  the 
virtues  which  our  present  condition  imposes  ;  such 
is  the  taste  which  that  love  inspires  ;  such  are  the 
particular  inclinations  which  it  excites  in  our  souls. 
After  all,  how  often  are  those  feelings  blunted  by 
prevailing  attachment  to  the  creature  ?  How  often 
are  they  too  faint  to  animate  us  to  engage  in  those 
exercises  ?  How  often  do  we  present  ourselves  be- 
fore God,  like  victims  dragged  reluctantly  to  the 
altar?  How  often  must  a  sense  of  duty  supply  the 
want  of  inclination,  and  hell  opening  under  our  feet, 
produce  in  our  souls  the  effects  which  ought  to  flow 
from  the  love  of  God  purely  ?  l3ut,  be  it  as  it  may, 
our  love  so  long  as  we  continue  here  below,  can  go 
nafarther  than  this.  That  complete  devotedness  of 
.,i>«0ul  to  God,  those  voluntary  sacrifices,  that  su- 
■'  blimity  of  virtue  which  refers  every  thing  to  God  and 
to  him  alone,  are  Wholly  unknown  to  us;  we  have 
neither  ideas  to  conceive  them  ourselves,  nor  terms 
jn  which  to  convey  them  lo  the  minds  of  others. 

The  blessed  in  heaven  know  Go<:\  perfectly,  and 
have  a  love  to  him  proportioned  to  the  perfection  of 
that  knowledge,  and  inclinations  proportioned  to 
that  love.  We  know  what  may  be  impressed  on 
the  heart  of  man  by  the  idea  of  a  God  known  as  su- 
premely 


The  Rapture  of  Si  Paul  249 

premely  wise,  as  supremely  powerful,  as  supremely 
amiable.  The  blessed  in  heaven  take  pleasure  in 
exercises  which  scripture  describes  in  language 
adapted  to  our  present  capacities.  To  this  pnrpose 
are  such  as  the  following  expressions,  "  to  cast  their 
crowns  before  the  throne,'^  Rev.  iv.  10.  "to  be- 
hold always  the  face  of  their  Father  which  is  in  hea- 
ven," Matt,  xviii.  10.  as  courtiers  do  that  of  their 
sovereign  ;  to  cover  their  faces  in  his  presence,  is. 
vi.  2.  "  to  sing  a  new  song  before  the  throne,'^  Rev. 
xiv.  3. :  to  fly  at  his  command  with  the  rapidity  of 
the  ''  wind  and  of  a  flame  of  fire,^^  Heb.  i.  7.  to 
"  cry  one  to  another,  Holy,  holy,  holy  is  the  Lord 
of  hosts,^^  Is.  vi.  3.:  to  burn,  to  bear  the  name  of 
Seraphim^  that  is,  burning  with  zeal.  These  are  em- 
blems presented  to  our  imagination.  The  thing  it- 
self cannot  be  brought  down  to  the  level  of  our  ca- 
pacity. We  are  ignorant  of  the  effect,  because  the 
cause  is  far  beyond  our  comprehension.  We  are 
strangers  to  the  joy  flowing  from  it,  because  we 
want  the  taste  which  alone  can  enable  us  to  relish 
such  delights. 

Nay  more,  with  the  taste  which  we  have  upon 
the  earth,  such  and  such  a  joy  of  the  blessed  above, 
would  api^ear  the  severest  of  punishments  to  the 
greatest  of  saints  among  us.  The  essence  of  the  fe- 
licity of  saints  in  glory  consists  in  loving  God  only, 
and  all  other  things  in  reference  to  God.  The  sen- 
timents by  which  they  are  animated  relatively  to 
other  beings,  are  not  sentiments  of  blood,  of  the 
spirits,  of  temperament,  like  those  by  which  we  are 
actuated  here  below,  they  are  regulated  by  order  ; 
I  hey  refer  all  to  God  alone  :  the  blessed  above  arc- 
affected  with  the  felicity  and  the  misery  of  others, 
only  in  so  far  as  these  relate  to  the  great  moving 
princi'pies  by  which  thicy  are  governed.  But  that 
felicity  depicted  to  men  upon  cartli,  and  ap^^ed  to 
particular  cases,  would  appear  to  them  a-4;cal  pu- 
nishment.    Could  a  father  relish  a  fehcijy  which  he 

■^  was 


2^0  The  Rapture  of  St  Paul. 

was  told  he  could  not  possibly  share  with  his  child  ? 
Could  the  friend  enjoy  tranquillity,  were  he  haunted 
with  the  thought,  that  the  friend  of  his  heart  lay 
groaning  under  chains  of  darkness  ?  Have  we  so 
much  love  for  order ;  are  we  sufficiently  disposed 
to  refer  all  our  inclinations  to  God,  so  as  to  have 
that  taste,  which  considers  objects  as  amiable  and 
interesting,  only  as  they  have  a  relation  to  that  or- 
der, and  to  that  glory  of  the  Creator?  And  do  we 
not  feel,  that  a  felicity  relative  to  a  taste  which  we 
do  not  possess,  nay,  opposite  to  that  which  we  now 
have,  is  a  felicity  unspeakable, 

3.  The  third  notion  which  we  suggested  to  you, 
of  the  heavenly  felicity,  is  that  of  sensible  pleasure, 
A  defect  of  faculty  prevents  our  perception  of  their 
pleasures. 

Be  not  surprised  that  we  introduce  sensations  of 
pleasure,  into  the  idea  of  a  felicity  perfectly  pure, 
and  perfectly  conformable  to  the  sanctity  of  him 
who  is  the  author  of  it.  Do  not  suspect  that  we 
are  going  to  extract  from  the  grossly  sensual  notions 
of  Mahomet,  the  representation  which  we  mean  to 
give  you  of  the  paradise  of  God.  You  hear  us  fre- 
quently declaiming  against  the  pleasures  of  sense. 
But  do  not  go  to  confound  things,  under  pretence 
of  perfecting  them  ;  and  under  the  affectation  of 
decrying  sensible  pleasures,  let  us  not  consider  as  an 
imperfection  of  the  soul  of  man,  the  power  wliich  it 
has  to  enjoy  them.  No,  my  brethren,  it  is  on  the 
contrary,  one  of  its  highest  perfections,  to  be  sus- 
ceptible of  those  sensations,  to  possess  the  faculty  of 
scenting  the  perfume  of  flowers,  of  relishing  the  sa- 
vour of  meats,  of  delighting  in  the  harmony  of 
sounds,  and  so  of  the  other  objects  of  sense. 

If  we  declaim  against  your  pleasures,  it  is  because 
you  frequently  sacrifice  pleasures  tlic  most  sublime, 
to  such  as  are  pitiful  and  insigniiicant ;  j)leaat)ies  of 
everiastinir  duriition,  to  those  of  a  moment. 

If 


The  Rapture  of  St  PauL  S5 1 

if  we  declaim  against  your  pleasures,  it  is  because, 
the  attachment  which  you  feel  for  those  of  the 
earth,  engages  you  to  consider  them  as  the  sovereign 
good,  and  prevents  your  aspiring  after  that  abun- 
dant portion,  which  is  laid  up  for  you  in  heaven. 

If  we  declaim  against  your  pleasures,  it  is  because^ 
you  regard  the  creatures  through  which  they  are 
communicated,  as  if  they  were  the  real  authors  of 
them.  You  ascribe  to  the  element  of  fire  the  essen- 
tial property  of  warming  you,  to  aliments  that  of 
gratifying  the  palate,  to  sounds  that  of  ravishing  the 
ear.  You  consider  the  creatures  as  so  many  divi- 
nities which  preside  over  your  happiness  ;  you  pay 
them  homage  ;  you  prostrate  your  imagination  be- 
fore them  :  not  reflecting  that  God  alone  can  pro- 
duce sensations  in  your  soul,  and  that  all  these  crea- 
tures are  merely  the  instruments  and  the  ministers 
of  his  providence.  But  the  maxim  remains  incon- 
trovertible :  namely,  that  the  faculty  of  relishing 
pleasure  is  a  perfection  of  our  soul,  and  one  of  its 
most  glorious  attributes. 

But  what  merits  particular  attention  is,  that  this 
faculty  which  we  have  of  receiviug  agreeable  sensa- 
tions, is  extremely  imperfect  so  long  as  we  remain 
upon  the  earth.  It  is  restricted  to  the  action  of  the. 
senses.  Its  activity  is  clogged  by  the  chains  which 
fetter  it  down  to  matter.  Our  souls  are  susceptible 
of  innumerably  more  sensations  than  we  ever  can 
receive  in  this  world.  As  progress  in  knowledge 
admits  of  infinity,  so  likewise  may  progress  in  the 
enjoyment  of  pleasure.  In  heaven  the  blessed  have 
the  experience  of  this.  There  God  exerts  the  ple- 
nitude of  his  power  over  the  soul,  by  exciting  in  it 
the  most  lively  eiDotions  of  delight ;  there  his  com- 
munications are  proportional  to  the  immortal  nature 
of  the  glorified  spirit.  This  was  produced  in  the 
soul  of  our  apostle. 

^'The  pleasures  which  I  have  tasted,"  he  seems 


252  The  Rapture  of  St  Paul. 

to  say,  *'  are  not  such  as  your  present  faculties  Can 
*'  reach.  In  order  to  make  you  comprehend  what 
''  1  have  felt,  I  must  be  endowed  with  the  power  of 
*'  creating  new  laws  of  the  union  subsisting  between 
'*  your  soul  and  your  body.  I  must  be  endowed 
*'  with  the  capacity  of  suspending  those  of  nature  : 
*'  or  rather,  1  must  be  possessed  of  the  means  of 
*'  tearing  your  soul  asunder  from  that  body.  I^must 
"  have  the  power  of  transporting  you  in  an  extasy, 
*'  as  I  myself  was.  And  considering  the  state  in 
*'  which  you  still  are,  1  am  persuaded  that  I  shall 
*'  represent  to  you  what  my  feelings  were  much  bet- 
"  ter,  by  telling  you  that  they  are  things  unspeak^ 
"  able^  than  by  attempting  a  description  of  them. 
•'^  For  when  the  point  in  question  is  to  represent 
*^'  that  which  consists  in  lively  and  affecting  sensa- 
*'  tions,  there  is  no  other  method  left,  but  actually 
'^  to  produce  them  in  the  breasts  of  the  persons  to 
*'  whom  you  would  make  the  communication.  In 
*'  order  to  produce  them,  faculties  must  be  found, 
"'  adapted  to  the  reception  of  such  sensations.  But 
''  these  faculties  you  do  not  as  yet  possess.  It  is  there- 
*•  fore  impossible  that  you  should  ever  comprehend, 
"  while  here  below,  what  such  sensations  mean. 
''  And  it  is  no  more  in  my  power  to  convey  to  you 
"  an  idea  of  those  which  1  have  enjoyed,  than  it  is 
*'  to  give  the  deaf  an  idea  of  sounds,  or  the  blind 
*'  man  of  colours." 

You  u:iast  be  sensible  then,  my  brethren,  that  de- 
fect in  respect  of  faculties^  prevents  our  conception 
of  the  sensible  pleasures  which  the  blessed  above  en- 
joy, as  want  of  taste^  and  want  oi genius  prevent  our 
comprehending  what  are  their  inclinations,  and  what 
is  their  illumination.  Accordingly,  the  principal  rea- 
son of  St  Paul's  silence,  and  of  the  silence  of  scrip- 
lure  in  general,  respecting  the  nature  of  the  heaven- 
ly felicity,  present  nothing  that  ought  to  relax  our 
ardour  in  the  pursuit  of  it  ;  they  are  proofs  of  its 

inconceivable 


The  Rapture  of  St  Paul.  ^53 

inconceivable  greatness,  and  so  far  from  sinking  its 
value  in  our  eyes,  they  manifestly  enhance  and  ag. 
grandize  it.  This  is  what  we  undertook  to  demoru 
strate. 


SEEMON 


SERMON  VIII, 

PART  III. 

The  Rapture  of  St  Paul 


2  Cor.  xii.  2,  3,  4. 

/  knew  a  man  in  Christ  above  fourteen  years  ago  (whe- 
ther in  the  hody^  J  cannot  tell :  or  loheiher  out  of 
the  body,  I  cannot  tell :  God  knoweth ;)  such  an  one 
caught  up  to  the  third  heaven.  And  I  knew  such  a 
man,  (whether  in  the  bodij^  or  out  of  the  bodij,  1  can- 
not tell :  God  knoweth ;)  how  that  he  was  caught  up 
n  to  paradise,  and  heard  unspeakable  words,  which  it 
is  not  lazofid  for  a  man  to  utter. 

WE  have  endeavoured  to  elucidate  the  expres- 
sions of  our  apostle  in  the  text,  and  to  de- 
monstrate that  the  silence  of  scripture,  041  the  sub- 
ject of  a  state  of  celestial  felicity,  suggests  nothing 
that  has  a  tendency  to  cool  our  ardour  in  the  pur- 
suit of  it,  but  rather  on  the  contrary,  that  this  very 
veil  which  conceals  the  paradise  of  God  from  our 
eyes  is,  above  all  things,  calculated  to  convey  the 
most  exalted  ideas  of  it.     We  now  proceed, 

1  III 


966  The  Rapture  of  Si  Paul 

III.  To  conclude  our  discourse,  by  niaking  some 
application  of  the  subject. 

Now  if  the  testimony  of  an  apostle,  if  the  deci- 
sions of  scripture,  if  the  arguments  which  have  been 
used,  if  all  this  is  deemed  insufficient,  and  if,  notwith- 
standing our  acknowledged  inability  to  describe  th& 
heavenly  felicity,  you  should  still  insist  on  our  at- 
tempting to  convey  some  idea  of  it,  it  is  in  our 
power  to  present  you  with  one  trait  of  it,  a  trait  of 
a  singular  kind,  and  which  well  deserves  your  most 
serious  attention.  It  is  a  trait  which  immediately 
refers  to  the  subject  under  discussion  :  I  mean  the 
ardent  desire  expressed  by  St  Paul  to  return  to  that 
felicity,  from  which  the  order  of  Providence  forced 
Iiim  away,  to  replace  him  in  the  world. 

Nothing  can  convey  to  us  a  more  exalted  idea  of 
the  transfiguration  of  Jesus  Christ,  than  the  effects 
which  it  produced  on  the  soul  of  St  Peter.  That 
apostle  had  scarcely  enjoyed  a  glimpse  of  the  Re- 
deemer's glory  on  the  holy  mount,  when  behold  he 
is  transported  at  the  sight.  Pie  has  no  longer  a  de- 
sire to  descend  from  that  mountain  ;  he  has  no 
longer  a  desire  to  return  to  Jerusalem  :  he  has  for- 
gotten  every  thing  terrestrial,  friends,  relations,  en- 
gagements ;  "  Lord,  it  is  good  for  us  to  be  here  ;  if 
thou  wilt,  let  us  make  here  three  tabernacles,"  Matt. 
xyii.  4.  and  to  the  extremity  of  old  age  he  retains 
the  impression  of  that  heavenly  vision,  and  exults  in 
the- recollection  of  it  :  ''  He  received  from  God  the 
Father  honour  and  glory,  when  there  came  such  a 
voice  to  him  from  the  excellent  glory  ;  this  is 
my  beloved  Son,  in  whom  I  am  well  pleased. 
And  this  voice  which  came  from  heaven  v/e  heard, 
when  we  were  with  him  in  the  holy  mount,"  2  Pet. 
i.  17,  18. 

The  idea  of  the  celestial  felicity  lias  made  a  simi- 
larly indelible  impression  on  the  mind  of  St  Paul. 
More  than  fourteen  years  have  elapsed  since  he  was 
blessed  with  the  vision  of  it.  Nay,  for  fourteen  years 

3  "  he 


The  Raptm^  of  St  Paul  257 

he  has  kept  silence.  This  object,  nevertheless,  ac- 
companies him  wherever  he  goes,  and,  in  every  situ- 
ation, his  soul  is  panting  after  the  restoration  of  it. 
And  in  what  way  was  he  to  look  for  that  restora- 
tion ?  Not  in  the  way  of  extasij,  not  in  a  rapture.  He 
v/as  not  to  be  translated  to  heaven^  as  Elijah,  in  a 
chariot  of  fire.  Necessity  was  laid  upon  him  of  sub- 
mitting to  the  law  imposed  on  every  child  of  Adam  : 
//  is  appointed  to  all  raen  once  to  die^  Heb.  ix.  27. 
But  no  matter;  to  that  death,  the  object  of  terror  to 
all  mankind,  he  looks  forward  with  fond  desire. 

But  what  do  I  say,  that  death  simply  was  the  path 
which  St  Paul  must  tread,  to  arrive  at  the  heavenly 
rest  ?  No,  not  the  ordinary  death  of  most  men ;  but 
death  violent,  premature,  death  arrayed  in  all  its 
terror.  Nero,  the  barbarous  Nero,  was  then  upon 
the  throne,  and  the  blood  of  a  Christian  so  renowned 
as  our  apostle,  must  not  escape  so  determined  a  foe 
to  Christianity.  No  matter  still.  *'  Let  loose  all 
*'  thy  fury  against  me,  ferocious  tiger,  longing  ta 
**  glut  thyself  with  Christian  blood :  I  defy  thy 
"  worst.  Come,  executioner  of  the  sanguinary 
"  commands  of  that  monster ;  I  will  mount  the 
*«  scaffold  with  undaunted  resolution  :  I  will  submit 
'*^  my  head  to  the  fatal  blow  with  intrepidity  and 
*'  joy."  We  said,  in  the  opening  of  this  discourse, 
Paul,  ever  since  his  rapture,  talks  only  of  dying, 
only  of  being  absent  from  the  bod ff,  only  of  Jims  kin  £^  /m 
course,  only  oi  departing,  *'  We  that  are  in  this  taber- 
nacle do  groan,  being  burdened  ;  .  .  .  .  willing  rather 
to  be  absent  from  the  body,  and  to  be  present  with 
the  Lord,*'  2  Cor.  v.  4,  8.  "  Neither  count  1  my  Hfe 
dear  unto  myself,  so  that  I  might  finish  my  course 
with  joy,  and  the  ministry  which  [  haVe  received  of 
the  Lord  Jesus,"  Acts  xx.  2k  "  having  a  desire  to  de- 
part, and  to  be  with  Christ,  which  is  far  better,"  Phl^l. 
i.  2':'.  We  often  find  men  braving  death,  when  at  a 
distance,  but  slirinking  from  the  nearer  approach  of 
the  king  of  terrors.     But  the  earnestness  of  our  apos- 

yoT,.  VI.  S  tle'V 


558  The  Rapture  oj  St  Paul 

tie's  wishes  is  heightened  in  proportion  as  they  draw 
nigh  to  their  centre  :  when  he  is  arrived  at  the  de- 
parting moment,  he  triumphs,  "  I  have  fought  a  good 
fight,  I  have  finished  my  course,  I  have  kept  the 
faith.  Henceforth  is  laid  up  for  me  a  crown  of  righ- 
teousness, which  the  Lord,  the  righteous  judge,  shall 
give  me  at  that  day,"  2  Tim.  iv.  7,  8. 

My  brethren,  you  are  well  acquainted  with  St 
Paul.  He  was  a  truly  great  character.  Were  we 
not  informed  by  a  special  Revelation  that  he  was  in- 
spired by  the  Spirit  of  God,  we  must  ever  entertain 
high  ideas  of  a  man,  who  had  derived  his  extensive 
knowledge  from  the  pure  sources  of  the  Jewish  dis- 
pensation ;  who  had  ennobled  his  enlarged  and  capa- 
cious mind  by  all  that  is  more  subHme  in  Christi- 
anity ;  of  a  man,  w^hose  heart  had  always  obeyed  the 
dictates  of  his  understanding;  who  opposed  Christi- 
anity with  zeal,  so  long  as  he  believed  Christianity 
to  be  false,  and  who  bent  the  full  current  of  his  zeal 
to  the  support  of  Christianity,  from  the  moment  he 
became,  persuaded  that  it  was  an  emanation  from 
God. 

St  Paul  was  a  man  possessed  of  strong  reasoning 
powers,  and  we  have  in  his  writings  many  monu- 
ments which  will  convey  down  to  the  end  of  the 
world,  the  knowledge  of  his  intellectual  superiority. 
Nevertheless  this  man  so  enlightened,  so  sage,  so 
rational ;  this  man  who  knew  the  pleasures  of  hea- 
ven by  experience,  no  longer  beholds  any  thing  on 
the  earth  once  to  be  compared  with  them,  or  that 
could  for  a  moment  retard  his  wishes.  He  con- 
cludes that  celestial  joys  ought  not  to  be  considered 
as  too  dearly  purchased,  at  whatever  price  it  may 
have  pleased  God  to  rate  them,  and  whatever  it  may 
cost  to  attain  them.  *'  /  reckon^  says  he,  J  reckon 
"  v»^hat  I  suffer,  and  what  I  may  still  be  called  to 
"suffer,  on  the  one  side:  and  /  reckon^  on  the 
*^  other,  the  glory  of  which  I  have  been  a  witness, 
**  and  which  I  am  still  to  enjoy  :  I  reckon,  that  the 

*'  sufferings 


Tlie  Rapture  of  St  Paul.  959 

"  sufFerings  of  this  present  time  are  not  worthy  to 
*'  be  compared  with  the  glory  which  shall  be  reveal- 
"  ed  in  us,  Rom.  viii.  18.  Having  a  desire  to  depart, 
»'  and  to  be  with  Christ''  Phil.  i.  23. 

Eut  who  is  capable  of  giving  an  adequate  repre- 
sentation  of  his  transports,  so  as  to  make  you  feel 
them  v\ith  greater  energy,   and,  were  it  possible,  to 
transfuse  them  into  your  hearts  ?  Represent  to  your- 
self a  man,  who  has  actually  seen   that  glory,  of 
which  we  can  give  you  only  borrowed  ideas.     Re- 
present to  yourself  a   man,  who   has  visited  those 
sacred  mansions  which  are  in  the  house  of  the  Father, 
.Tohn  xiv.  2.  a  man  who  has  seen  the  palace  of  the 
sovereign  of  the  universe,  and  those  thousands^  those 
thousand  thousands  which   surround  his  throne,  Dan. 
vii.  10.  a  man  who  has  been  in   that  new  Jerusalem, 
lohich  comet h  doimi  out  of  heaven^  Rev.   iii.    12.  in 
that  new  heaven^  and  that  neio  earthy  Rev.  xxi.   I. 
The  inhabitants    of  which    are    angels,    archangels, 
the  seraphim  ;  of  which  the  lamb  is  the  sun  and  the 
temple.  Rev.   xxi.   22,  2.^.  and  where  God  is  all  in 
all,  I   Cor.   XV.  28.     Represent  to  yourself  a  man, 
who  has  heard  those  harmonious  concerts,  those  tri- 
umphant choirs  which  sing  aloud  day  and  night : 
Holif^  hobj^  holij  is  the  Lord  of  Hosts  ;  the  x^hole  earth 
is  full  of  his  glorif,  Isa.  vi.  o.  a  man  who  has  heard 
those    celestial  multitudes    which   cry  out,   saying, 
Alleluia;  salvation^  and  glorij,  and  honour,  and  power , 

unto  the  Lord  our  God and  the  four  and  twenty 

elders  reply,  saifing^  Amen  ;  Alleluia let  us  be 

glad  and  rejoice,  for  the  marriage  of  the  l^amb  is  come, 
and  /lis  zdfe  hath  made  herself  read//,  Rev.  xix.  1,  4,  7, 
Represent  to  yourself  a  man  who  has  been  received 
into  heaven  by  those  angels  who  rejoice  over  one  sin- 
ner that  repeuieth,  Luke  xv.  7.  and  who  redouble 
their  acclamations  when  he  is  admitted  into  the 
bosorn  of  glory ;  or,  to  say  somewhat  which  has  a 
still  nearer  relation  to  the  idea  which  we  ought  to 
conceive   of  St  Paul,  represent  to  yourself  a  man 

hearins" 


260  The  Rapture  of  St  Paul 

bearing  in  his  bodif^  the  marks  of  the  Lord  Jesus ^  Gal, 
vi.  17.  and  beholding  that  Jesus  in  the  bosom  of  the 
Father  :  represent  to  yourself  that  man  giving  way  to 
unrestrained  effusions  of  love,  embracing  his  Savi- 
our, clinging  to  his  feet,  passing,  in  such  sacred 
transports  of  delight,  a  time  which  glides  away,  un- 
doubtedly, with  rapidity  of  which  we  have  no  con- 
ception, and  which  enables  the  soul  to  comprehend 
how,  in  the  enjoyment  of  perfect  bliss,  a  thousand 
years  fly  away  with  the  velocity  of  one  day  :  represent 
to  yourself  that  man  suddenly  recalled  to  this  valley  of 
tears,  beholding  that  third  heaven^  those  archangels, 
that  God,  that  Jesus,  all,  all  disappearing ;  Ah,  my 
brethren,  what  regret  must  such  a  man  have  felt ! 
What  holy  impatience  to  recover  the  vision  of  all 
those  magnificent  objects  I  What  is  become  of  so 
much  felicity,  of  so  much  glory  !  Was  I  made  to 
possess  them,  then,  only  to  have  the  pain  of  losing 
them  again  1  Did  God  indulge  me  with  the  beatific 
vision  only  to  give  me  a  deeper  sense  of  my  misery  1 

0  moment  too  fleeting  and  transitory,  and  have  you 
fled  never  to  be  recalled  I  Raptures,  transports,  ex- 
tasies,  have  ye  left  me  for  ever  I  *'  My  father,  my  fa- 
ther, the  chariot  of  Israel,  and  the  horsemen  thereof," 
2  Kings  ii.  Ii2.  "  As  the  hart  panteth  after  the  wa- 
ter-brooks, so  panteth  my  soul  after  thee,  O  God  :  my 
soul  thirsteth  for  God,  for  the  living  God  :  when  shall 

1  come  and  appear  before  God  ?''  Ps.  xlii.  1,2.  "  How 
amiable  are  thy  tabernacles,  O  Lord  of  hosts  I  My 
soul  longeth,  yea,  even  fainteth  for  the  courts  of  the 
Lord  :  my  heart  and  my  flesh  crieth  out  for  the  living 
God ....  Blessed  are  they  that  dwell  in  thy  house  : 
they  will  be  still  praising  thee  1  thine  altars,  thine  al- 
tars, O  Lord  of  hosts,  my  king,  and  my  God  V  Psal. 
Ixxxiv.  1,  8tc. 

My  God,  wherefore  enjoy  we  not  at  this  day  such 
privileges,  that  we  also  might   be   filled  with  such 
sentiments  !    Boundless  abysses,  which  separate  be- 
tween  heaven  and  earth,  why  are  ye  not,  for  a  sea- 
son, 


The  Rapture  of  St  Paul  361 

5Dn,  filled  up  to  us,  as  ye  were  to  this  apostle  !  Ye 
torrents  of  endless  delight,  wherefore  roll  ye  not  to 
us,  some  of  your  precious  rills,  that  they  may  teach 
us  a  holy  contempt  for  those  treacherous  joys  which 
deceive  and  ensnare  us! 

My  brethren,  if  ceasing  from  the  desire  of  mani- 
Testations  which  we  have  not,  we  could  learn  to  avail 
ourselves  of  those  which  God  has  been  pleased  to 
bestow  I  v;ere  we  but  disposed  to  listen  to  the  infor- 
mation which  the  scriptures  communicate,  respec- 
ting the  heavenly  felicity  I  If  we  would  but  examine 
the  proofs,  the  demonstrations  which  we  have  of 
eternal  blessedness  I  If  we  but  knew  hov/  to  feed  on 
those  ideas,  and  frequently  to  oppose  them  to  those 
voids,  to  those  nothings,  which  are  the  great  ob- 
ject of  our  pursuit!  If  we  w^ould  but  compare  them 
with  the  excellent  nature  of  our  souls,  and  with  the 
dignity  of  our  origin  !  then  we  should  become  like 
St  Paul.  Then  nothing  would  be  able  to  damp 
our  zeal.  The  end  of  the  course  would  then  employ 
every  wish,  every  desire  of  the  heart.  Then  no 
dexterity  of  management  would  be  needful  to  intro- 
duce a  discourse  on  the  subject  of  death.  Then  we 
should  rejoice  in  those  who  might  say  to  us,  Let  us 
go  up  to  Jdrusalem,  Then  we  should  reply,  our  feet 
shall  stand  within  thy  gates,  O  Jerusalem  !  Fs.  cxxii.  S, 
Then  we  should  see  that  fervour,  that  zeal,  that  trans- 
ports, are  the  virtues,  and  the  attainment  of  the  dying. 

You  would  wish  to  be  partakers  of  St  Paul's  rap- 
ture to  the  third  heaven,  but  if  this  privilege  be  de- 
nied you  to  its  full  extent,  nothing  forbids  your  as- 
piring after  one  part  of  it  at  leas.t.  When  was  it 
that  St  Paul  was  caught  up  into  paradise  ?  You 
have  been  told  :  it  was  when  engaged  in  prayer. 
WJiile  I  prayed  in  the  temple^  says  he,  /  was  in  a  trance. 
Acts  xxii.  17.  The  word  trance  or  extasjj  is  of  in- 
determinate meaning.  A  man  in  an  cxtasy  is  one 
whose  soul  is  so  entirely  devoted  to  an  object,  that 
he  is,  in  some  sense,  out  of  his  own  body,  and  no 

longer 


262  The  Raptures  of  St  Paul 

longer  perceives  what  passes  in  it.  Persons  addicted 
to  scientific  research,  have  been  known  so  entirely 
absorbed  in  thought,  as  to  be  in  a  manner  insensible 
during  those  moments  of  intense  application.  Ex- 
iasy,  in  religion,  is  that  undivided  attention  which 
attaches  the  mind  to  heavenly  objects.  If  any  thing 
is  capable  of  producing  this  effect,  it  is  prayer.  It 
is  by  no  means  astonishing  that  a  man  who  has  en- 
iered  into  his  closet^  and  shut  the  door,  Mat.  vi.  6. 
who  has  excluded  the  world,  w^ho  has  lost  sight  of 
every  terrestrial  object,  whose  soul  is  concentrated, 
and  lost  in  God,  if  I  may  use  the  expression,  that 
such  a  man  should  be  so  penetrated  with  admiration, 
•with  love,  with  hope,  with  joy,  as  to  become  hkc 
one  rapt  in  an  extasy. 

But  farther.  It  is  in  the  exercise  of  prayer  that  God 
is  pleased  to  communicate  himself  to  us  in  the  most 
intimate  manner.  It  is  in  the  exercise  of  prayer, 
that  he  unites  himself  to  us  in  the  tenderest  manner. 
It  is  in  the  exercise  of  prayer,  that  distinguished 
saints  obtain  those  signal  marks  of  favour,  which  are 
the  object  of  our  most  ardent  desire.  A  man  who 
prays  :  a  man  whose  prayer  is  employed  about  de- 
tachment from  sensible  things :  a  man  who  blushes, 
in  secret,  at  the  thought  of  being  so  swallowed  up  of 
sensible  things,  and  so  little  enamoured  of  divine  ex- 
cellencies :  a  man  who  asks  of  God,  to  be  blessed 
with  a  glimpse  of  his  glory,  with  a  foretaste  of  the 
felicity  laid  up  in  store  for  him,  and  that  he  would 
fortify  his  soul  against  the  difficulties  and  dangers  of 
his  career:  such  a  man  may  expect  to  be,  as  it 
were,  wrapt  in  an  extasy,  either  by  the  natural  effect 
of  prayer,  or  by  the  extraordinary  communications 
which  God  is  pleased  to  vouchsafe  to  those  who  call 
upon  his  name. 

From  this  source  proceeds  that  earnest  longing  to 
depart,  such  as  Paul  expressed  :  hence  that  delight- 
ful recollection  of  the  pleasure  enjoyed  in  those  de- 
vout exercises,  pleasures  that  has  rendered  the  soul 

insensible 


The  Rapture  of  Si  Paul  ^i^^ 

insensible  to  the  empty  delights  of  this  world ;  hence 
the  idea  of  those  blessed  moments  which  occupy  the 
mind  for  fourteen  years  together,  and  which  produ- 
ces, at  the  hour  of  death,  a  fervour  not  hable  to  sus- 
picion :  for,  my  brethren,  there  is  a  fervour  which  I 
am  disposed  to  suspect.  I  acknowledge,  that  when 
I  see  a  man  who  has  all  his  life  long  stagnated  in  the 
world,  affecting,  at  the  hour  of  death,  to  assume 
the  language  of  eminent  saints,  and  to  say,  /  have  a 
desire  to  depart:  mij  soul  thirst  ethjor  God ^  for  the  living 
God ;  becoming  all  at  once  a  seraph,  burning  with 
zeal ;  I  acknowledge  myself  to  be  always  under  an 
apprehension,  that  this  zeal  derives  its  birth  from 
some  mechanical  play,  or  to  the  unaccountable  duty 
which  the  sick  impose  upon  themselves,  even  such 
of  them  as  are  most  steadily  attached  to  the  earth,  of 
declaring  that  they  feel  an  earnest  desire  to  leave  it. 
But  a  man  who,  through  life,  has  l^een  busied  about 
eternity,  whose  leading  aim  was  to  secure  a  happy 
eternity,  who  has,  as  it  were,  anticipated  the  plea- 
sures of  eternity,  by  habits  of  devotion  ;  a  man  wjio 
has  been  absorbed  of  those  ideas,  who  has  fed  upon 
them  ;  a  man  who,  having  devoted  a  whole  life  to 
those  sacred  employments,  observes  the  approach 
of  death  with  joy,  meets  it  with  ardent  desire,  zeal, 
transport,  such  a  man  displays  nothing  to  excite  sus' 
picion. 

And  is  not  such  a  state  worthy  of  being  envied  ? 
This  is  the  manner  of  death  which  I  ask  of  thee,  O 
my  God,  when,  after  having  served  thee  in  the  sane* 
tuary,  like  the  high  priest  of  old,  thou  shalt  be 
pleased,  of  thy  great  mercy,  to  admit  me  into  the 
holy  of  holies.  This  is  the  manner  of  death  which 
I  wish  to  all  of  you,  my  beloved  hearers.  God  grant 
that  each  of  you  may  be  enabled  powerfully  to  in- 
culcate upon  his  own  mind,  this  great  principle  of 
religion,  that  there  is  a  third  heaven,  a  paradise,  a 
world  of  bliss  over  our  heads !  God  grant  that  each 
€f  you  may  attain  the  lively  persuasion,  that  this  is 

the 


554  '  The  Rapture  of  Si  Paul. 

the  only  desireable  felicity,  the  only  felicity  worthy 
of  God  to  bestow,  and  of  man  to  receive  !  God 
grant  that  each  of  you,  in  meditation,  in  prayer,  in 
those  happy  moments  of  the  Christian  hfe  in  which 
God  communicates  himself  so  intimately  to  his  crea- 
tures, may  enjoy  the  foretastes  of  that  fehcity ;  and 
thus,  instead  of  fearing  that  death  which  is  to  put 
you  in  possession  of  so  many  blessings,  you  may  con- 
template it  with  holy  joy,  and  say,  *'  This  is  the 
*'  auspicious  moment  which  I  have  so  long  wished 
"  for,  which  my  soul  has  been  panting  after,  which 
"  has  been  the  burden  of  so  many  fervent  prayers  ; 
**  Lord,  710W  lettest  thou  thij  setvant  depart  m  peace^ 
**  according  to  thij  xvord,  for  mine  eyes  have  seen  thy  sal- 
*'  vation^''  May  God  in  mercy  grant  it  to  us  all.  To 
liira  be  honour  ^nd  glory  for  ever.     Amen. 


SERMON 


SERMON  IX. 


On  Numbering  oui'  Days,  * 


jPSALM  XC.   19, 


So  teach  us  to  number  our  daijs^  that  loe  may  apply  our 
hearts  unto  zaisdom, 

THROUGH  what  favour  of  indulgent  heaven 
does  this  church  nourish  in  its  bosom  members 
sufficient  to  furnish  out  the  solemnity  of  this  day, 
and  to  compose  an  assembly  so  numerous  and  respec- 
table ?  Through  what  distinguishing  goodness  is  it, 
that  you  find  yourselves  with  your  children,  with 
your  friends,  with  your  Fellow  citizens ;  no,  not  all  of 
them,  for  the  mourning  weeds  in  which  some  of  you 
are  clothed  plainly  indicate,  that  death  has  robbed 
us,  in  part,  of  them,  in  the  course  of  the  year  which 
is  just  terminated.  But  through  what  distinguishing 
goodness  is  it,  that  you  find  yourselves,  with  your 

children, 

*  Delivered  in  the  church  of  Rotteidam,  on  New-Year's  day, 
1127. 


9bG  On  Jiumherwg  our  Days, 

children  with  your  friends,  with  your  fellow-citizens, 
collected  together  in  this  sacred  place  ? 

The  preachers  who  filled  the  spot  which  I  have 
now  the  honour  to  occupy,  and  whose  voice  resound- 
ed through  this  temple  at  the  commencement  of  the 
last  year,  derived,  from  the  inexhaustible  fund  of  hu- 
man frailty  and  infirmity,  motives  upon  motives  to 
excite  apprehension  that  you  might  not  behold  the 
end  of  it.  They  represented  to  you  the  fragility  of 
the  organs  of  your  body,  which  the  slightest  shock  is 
able  to  derange  and  to  destroy ;  the  dismal  accidents 
by  which  the  life  of  man  is  incessantly  threatened  ; 
the  maladies,  without  number,  which  are  either  en- 
tailed on  us  by  the  law  of  our  nature,  or  which  are 
the  fruit  cf  our  intemperance  ;  the  uncertainty  of  hu- 
man existence,  and  the  narrow  bounds  to  which  life, 
at  the  longest,  is  contracted. 

After  having  filled  their  mouths  with  arguments 
drawn  from  the  stores  of  nature,  they  had  recourse 
to  those  of  religion.  They  spake  to  you  of  the  li- 
niited  extent  of  the  patience  and  long-suffering  of 
God.  They  told  you,  that  to  each  of  us  is  assigned 
only  a  certain  number  of  days  of  visitation.  They 
thundered  in  your  ears  such  warnings  as  these  :  *'  Ga- 
ther yourselves  together,  yea  gather  together,  0  nation 
not  desired  ;  before  the  decree  bring  forth. . .  .before 
the  fierce  anger  of  the  Lord  come  upon  you,"  Zeph. 
ii.  1,2.  "I  will  set  a  plumb-line  in  the  midst  of  my 
people  :  I  will  not  again  pass  by  them  any  more," 
Amos  vii.  8.  *'  Yet  forty  days  and  Nmeveh  shall  be 
overthrown :  yet  forty  days  and  Nineveh  shall  be 
overthrown,'"  Jonah  iii.  4. 

How  is  it  possible  that  we  should  have  escaped, 
at  the  same  time,  the  miseries  of  nature,  and  the 
fearful  threatenings  of  religion  ?  And  to  repeat  my 
questioii  once  more,  through  what  favour  of  indul- 
gent heaven  does  this  church  nourish  in  its  bosom 
iiierabers  sufficient  to  furnish  out  the  solemnity  of 

this 


On  numhering  our  Days.  267 

this  day,  and  to  compose  an  assembly  so  numerous 
and  respectable  ? 

It  is  to  be  presumed,  my  brethren,  that  the  prin- 
ciple which  has  prevented  our  improvement  of  the 
innumerable  benefits  with  which  a  gracious  Provi- 
dence is  loading  us,  prevents  not  our  knowledge  of 
the  source  from  which  they  flow.  It  is  to  be  pre- 
sumed, that  the  first  emotions  of  our  hearts,  when 
we,  this  morning,  opened  our  eyes  to  behold  the 
light,  have  been  such  as  formerly  animated  holy 
men  of  God,  when  they  cried  aloud,  amidst  the  re- 
sidue of  those  whom  the  love  of  God  had  delivered 
from  the  plagues  inflicted  by  his  justice,  in  the  days 
of  vengeance  :  "  It  is  of  the  Lord's  mercies  that  we 
are  not  consumed,  because  his  compassions  fail  not : 
they  are  new  every  morning,"  ]^am.  iii.  22,  23. 
"  Except  the  Lord  of  hosts  had  left  unto  us  a  very 
small  remnant,  we  should  have  been  as  Sodom,  and 
we  should  have  been  like  unto  Gomorrah,"  Is.  i.  9. 

Wo  I  Wo  I  Anathema  upon  anathema  I  be  to  him 

who  shall  dare  henceforth  to  abuse But  no, 

let  us  not  fulminafe  curses.  Let  not  sounds  so  dread- 
ful affright  the  ears  of  an  audience  like  this.  Let  us 
adopt  a  language  more  congenial  to  the  present  day. 
We  come  to  beseech  you,  my  beloved  brethren,  by 
those  very  mercies  of  God  to  which  you  are  indebted 
for  exemption  from  so  many  evils,  and  for  the  en- 
joyment of  so  many  blessings  ;  by  those  very  mer- 
cies which  have  this  day  opened  for  your  admission^ 
the  gates  of  this  temple,  instead  of  sending  you 
down  into  the  prison  of  the  tomb ;  by  those  very 
mercies,  by  which  you  were,  within  these  few  days, 
invited  to  the  table  of  the  Eucharist,  instead  of  be- 
ing summoned  to  the  tribunal  of  judgment;  by  these 
tender  mercies  we  beseech  you  to  assume  sentiments, 
and  to  form  plans  of  conduct,  which  may  have 
something  like  a  corresponderice  to  what  God  ha5^ 
been  pleased  to  do  in  your  behalf 

And 


i26S  0)1^  numbering  our  Daijs, 

And  thou,  God  Almighty,  the  Sovereign,  the  Sear* 
cher  of  all  hearts',  thou  who  movest  and  directest  them 
which  way  soever  thou  wilt!  vouchsafe,  almighty  God, 
to  open  to  us  the  hearts  of  all  this  assembly,  that  they 
may  yield  to  the  in  treaties  which  we  address  to  them 
in  thy  name,  as  thou  hast  been  thyself  propitious  to 
the  prayers  which  they  have  presented  to  thee.  Thou 
hast  reduced  ike  measure  of  our  days  to  an  hand  breadth : 
Ps.  xxxix.  5,  and  the  meanest  of  our  natural  facul- 
ties is  sufficient  to  make  the  enumeration  of  them : 
but  so  to  number  our  days^  as  that  is^e  may  applij  our 
hearts  tmto  wisdom,  we  cannot  successfully  attempt 
without  thy  all-powerful  aid— Lor^,  so  teach  us  to 
number  Qur  days^  thcU  we  mmj  apply  our  hearts  unto 
wis^/om.     Amen. 

In  order  to  a  clear  comprehension  of  the  words  of 
my  text,  it  v/ould  be  hecessary  for  me  to  have  it  in 
iTiy  power  precisely  to  indicate  who  is  the  author  of 
them,  and  on  what  occasion  they  were  composed. 
The  Psalm,  from  which  they  are  taken,  bears  this  in- 
scription, ^  praijer  of  Moses ^  the  man  of  God.  But 
who  was  this  Moses  ?  And  on  the  supposition  that 
the  great  legislator  of  the  Jews  is  the  person  meant, 
did  Fie  actually  compose  it?  Or  do  the  words  of  the 
superscription,  A  prayer  of  Moses^  tlie  man  of  God^ 
amount  only  to  this,  that  some  one  has  imitated  his 
style,  and,  in  some  measure,  caught  his  spirit,  in 
this  composition  ?  This  is  a  point  not  easily  to  be 
decided,  and  which  mdeed  does  not  admit  of  com- 
plete demonstration. 

The  opinion  most  venowable  from  its  antiquity, 
and  the  most  generally  adopted,  is,  that  this  Psalm 
was  composed  by  the  Jewish  Lawgiver,  at  one  of 
the  most  melancholy  conjunctures  of  his  life,  when 
after  the  murmuring  of  the  Israelites,  on  occasion  of 
the  report  of  the  spies,  God  pronounced  this  tre- 
m^endous  decree :   '*  As  trulv  as  I  live,  all  lYiQ  earth 

^hcili 


f 


On  numbering  our  Dm/s,  969 

shall  be  filled  with  the  glory  of  the  Lord  ....  your 
carcases  shall  fall  in  this  wilderness ;  and  ail  that  were 
numbered  of  you,  according  to  your  whole  number 
....  shall  not  come  into  the  land,  concerning  which  I 
sware  to  make  you  dwell  therein,"  Num.  xiv.  21,29,30. 

If  this  conjecture  be  as  well  founded  as  it  is  pro- 
bable, the  prayer  under  review  is  the  production  of 
a  heart  as  deeply  affected  with  grief,  as  it  is  possible 
to  be  without  sinking  into  despair.  Never  did  Moses 
feel  himself  reduced  to  such  a  dreadful  extremity,  as 
at  this  fatal  period.  It  appeared  as  if  there  had  been 
a  concert  between  God  and  Israel  to  put  his  con- 
stancy to  tlie  last  trial.  On  the  one  hand,  the  Israel- 
ites wanted  to  make  him  responsible  for  all  that 
was  rough  and  displeasing  in  the  paths  through 
w^hich  God  was  pleased  to  lead  them;  a^id  it  seemed 
as  if  God,  on  the  other  hand,  v;ould  likewise  hcjd 
him  responsible  for  the  complicated  rebeUions  of 
Israel. 

Moses  opposes  to  this  just  displeasure  of  God  a 
buckler  which  he  had  often  employed  with  success  ; 
namely,  prayer.  That  which  he  put  up,  on  this 
occasion,  was  one  of  the  most  fervent  that  can  be 
imagined.  But  there  are  situations  in  which  all  the 
fervour,  of  even  the  most  powerful  intercessor,  is 
wholly  unavailing.  There  are  seasons  Vv^hen,  thougli 
Moses  and  Samuel  stood  up  before  God,  Jer.  xvi.  1.  to 
request  him  to  spare  a  nation,  the  measure  of  whose 
iniquity  was  corae  to  the  full,  they  would  request  in 
vain.  In  such  a  situation  was  Moses  now  placed. 
Represent  to  yourselves  the  deplorable  condition  of 
the  Israelites,  and  the  feelings  of  that  man,  whose 
leading  character  was  meekness ;  and  who,  if  w^ 
may  be  allowed  the  expression,  carried  that  rebelli- 
ous people  in  the  tenderest  and  most  sensible  part  of 
his  soul :  to  be  excluded  from  all  hope  beyond 
thirty  or  forty  years  of  life,  and  to  be  condemned  to 
pass  these  in  a  desert ;  what  a  fearful  destiny  I 


QJO  On  7iiimhering  our  Days, 

What  course  docs  Moses  take!  Dismissed,  so  ta 
speak,  banished  from  the  throne  of  grace,  does  he 
however  give  all  up  for  lost  ?  No,  my  brethren.  He 
was  unable  by  intreaty  to  procure  a  revocation  of  the 
sentence  pronounced  against  persons  so  very  dear  to 
him,  he  limits  himself  to  imploring,  in  their  behalf* 
wisdom  tp  make  a  proper  use  of  it.  "  Thou  hast 
"sworn  it,  great  God;  and  the  oath,  which  thy 
"  adorable  lips  have  pronounced  against  us,  can 
"  never  be  recalled.  Thou  hast  sworn  that  none 
*'  of  us,  who  came  out  of  Egypt,  shall  enter  into 
*'  that  land,  the  object  of  all  our  hopes  and 
*'  prayers.  Thou  hast  sworn  that  die  we  must, 
"  after  having  lingered  out,  for  forty  fears,  a  miser- 
"  able  existence  in  this  wilderness,  a  habitation  fitter 
*»*  for  ferocious  beasts  of  prey,  than  for  reasonable 
*'  creatures,  than  for  men  whom  thou  hast  chosen, 
"  and  called  thy  people.  The  sighs  which  my  soul 
*'  has  breathed  to  heaven  for  a  remission  are  una- 
*'  vailing  ;  the  tears  which  I  have  shed  in  thy  bosom, 
'*  have  been  shed  in  vain ;  these  hands,  once  power- 
**  ful  to  the  combat,  these  hands  which  were  stronger 
"  than  thee  in  battle,  these  hands  against  which 
*'  thou  couldst  not  hold  out,  which  made  thee  say, 
*•  let  fne  alone,  that  my  wrath  mail  wax  hot  against 
"  them,  and  that  I  maif  consume  them,  Exod.  xxxii. 
"  10.  :  these  hands  have  lost  the  blessed  art  of  pre- 
"  vailing  with  God  in  the  conflict !  Well,  be  it 
*'  so.  Let  us  die,  great  God,  seeing  it  is  thy  sove- 
"  reign  will  I  Let  us  serve  as  victims  to  thy  too 
'' just  indignation  ;  reduce  our  life  to  the  shortest 
*'  standard.  But  at  least,  since  we  had  not  the  wis- 
'*  dom  to  avail  ourselves  of  the  promises  of  a  long 
*'  and  happy  life,  teach  us  to  live  as  becomes  per- 
"  sons  who  are  to  die  so  soon.  Lord,  so  teach  us  to 
"  number  our  days,  that  we  may  apply  our  hearts  unto 
"  wisdom, ^^ 

This 


On  7iumh€nng  our  Daijs*  ^y  1 

This  is  a  general  idea  of  the  end  which  our  text 
lias  in  view.  But  let  us  enter  somewhat  more  deep- 
ly into  this  interesting  subject.  Let  us  make  appli- 
cation of  it  to  our  own  life,  which  bears  a  resemblance 
so  striking  to  that  which  the  children  of  Israel  were 
doomed  to  pass  in  the  wilderness.  We  are  to  en- 
quire j 

I.  What  is  implied  in  numbering  our  days. 

II.  What  are  the  conclusions  which  wisdom  de- 
duces from  that  ehumeratiori. 

I.  In  order  to  make  a  just  estimate  of  our  day?, 
let  us  reckon,  1.  Those  days,  or  divisions  of  time,  in 
w^hich  we  feel  neither  good  nor  evil,  neither  joy  nor 
griefj  and  in  which  we  practise  neither  virtue  nor 
vice,  and  which,  for  this  reason,  I  call  days  of  nothing- 
ness ;  let  us  reckon  these,  and  compare  them  with  the 
days  of  reality.  2.  Let  us  reckon  the  days  of  adver- 
sity, and  compare  them  with  the  days  of  prosperity, 
3,  Let  us  reckon  the  days  of  languor  and  weariness, 
and  compare  them  with  the  days  of  delight  and  plea- 
sure. 4.  Let  us  reckon  the  days  which  we  have  de- 
voted to  the  world,  and  compare  them  with  the  days 
which  we  have  devoted  to  religion.  5,  Finally,  Let 
us  calculate  the  amount  of  the  whole,  that  we  may 
discover  how  long  the  duration  is  of  a  life  consisting 
of  days  of  nothingness  and  of  reality  ;  of  days  of  pros- 
perity and  of  adversity  ;  of  days  of  pleasure  and  of 
languor;  of  days  devoted  to  the  world,  and  to  the 
salvation  of  the  soul. 

1 .  Let  us  reckon  the  days  of  nothingness,  and  com- 
pare them  with  the  days  of  reality.  1  give  the  ap- 
pellation of  claf/s  of  tiuthinf^ness  to  all  that  portion  of 
our  life  in  which,  as  I  said,  we  feel  neither  good  nor 
evil,  neither  joy  nor  grief;  in  wliich  we  practise  nei~ 
:i  ther 


^72  On  numbering  our  Dai/s. 

ther  virtue  nor  vice,   and  which  is  a  mere  nothing 
with  respect  to  us. 

In  this  class  must  be  ranked,  all  those  hours  which 
human  infirmity  lays  us  under  the  necessity  of  passing 
in  sleep,  and  which  run  away  with  a  third  part  of 
our  life  :  time,  during  which  we  are  stretched  in  a 
species  of  tomb,  and  undergo,  as  it  were,  an  antici- 
pated death.  Happy  at  the  same  time  in  being  able, 
in  a  death  not  immediately  followed  by  the  judgment 
of  God,  to  bury,  in  some  measure,  our  troubles,  to- 
gether  with  our  life  ! 

In  this  class  must  be  farther  ranked,  those  seasons 
of  inaction,  and  of  distraction,  in  which  all  the  facul- 
ties of  our  souls  are  suspended,  during  which  we 
propose  no  kind  of  object  to  thought,  during  which 
we  cease,  in  some  sense,  to  be  thinking  beings ;  sea- 
sons which  afford  an  objection  of  no  easy  solution, 
to  the  opinion  of  those  who  maintain  that  actual 
thought  is  essential  to  mind  ;  and  that  from  this  very 
consideration,  that  it  subsists,  it  must  actually  think. 

In  this  class  must  be  farther  ranked,  all  those  por- 
tions of  time  which  are  a  burden  to  us ;  not  because 
we  are' under  the  pressure  of  some  calamity,  for  this 
will  fall  to  be  considered  under  another  head,  but 
because  they  form,  if  I  may  say  so,  a  wall  between  us 
and  certain  events  which  we  ardently  wish  to  attain. 
Such  as  when  we  are  in  a  state  of  uncertainty  re- 
specting certain  questions,  in  w?iich  we  feel  ourselves 
deeply  interested,  but  which  must  remain  undecided, 
for  some  days,  for  some  months,  for  some  years. 
We  could  wish  to  suppress  all  those  intervals  of  our 
existence,  were  God  to  put  it  in  our  power.  Thus, 
a  child  v*^ishes  to  attain  in  a  moment,  the  age  of 
youth  ;  the  young  man  would  hasten  at  once  into 
the  condition  of  the  master  of  a  family  ;  and  some- 
times the  father  of  a  family  would  rush  forward  to 
the  period  when  he  should  see  the  beloved  objects  of 
his  affection  settled  in  the  world :  and  so  of  other 
cases. 

3  In 


On  numhenng  our  Days. 


'j'rj 


In  tills  class  we  may  still  rank  certain  seasons  of  pre- 
paration and  design  ;  such  as  the  time  which  we  spend 
in  dressing  and  undressing  upon  the  road,  and  in  other 
similar  occupations,  insipid  and  useless  in  them^ 
selves,  and  to  which  no  importance  attaches,  but  in  so 
far  as  they  are  the  means  necessary  of  attaining  aa 
object  more  interesting  than  themselves. 

Reckon,  if  you  can,  what  is  the  amount  of  this 
first  class  of  our  days;  compare  them  with  what 
we  have  called  days  of  reahty.  Whoever  will  take 
the  trouble  to  make  such  a  calculation  with  any  de- 
gree of  exactness,  must  be  constrained  to  acknow- 
ledge, that  a  man  who  says  he  has  lived  threescore 
years,  has  not  lived  twenty  complete  :  because  though 
he  has  in  truth  passed  threescore  years  in  the  world, 
forty  of  these  stole  away  in  listlessness  and  inaction, 
and  during  this  period,  he  was  as  if  he  had  not  been. 
This  is  the  first  enumeration,  the  enumeration 
of  dat/s  of  notliing^iess  compared  v/ith  days  of  reali- 

2.  Let  us  reckon  the  daijs  oj  adversitij,  and  com- 
pare them  with  the  days  of  prosperitfj.  To  what  a 
scanty  measure  would  human  life  be  reduced,  were 
we  to  siabtract  from  it  those  seasons  of  bitterness  of 
soul  which  God  seems  to  have  appointed  to  us,  rather 
to  furnish  an  exercise  to  our  patience,  than  to  make 
us  taste  the  pleasures  of  living. 

What  is  life  to  a  man,  who  feels  himself  condemn- 
ed to  live  in  a  state  of  perpetual  separation  from  per- 
sons who  are  dear  to  him  ?  Collect  into  one  arid  the 
same  house,  honours,  riches,  dignities ;  let  the  tables 
be  loaded  with  a  profusion  of  dainties  ;  display  the 
most  magnificent  furniture  ;  let  ail  that  is  exquisite 
in  music  be  provided  ;  let  every  human  delight  con- 
tribute its  aid  :  all  thai  is  necessary  to  render  all  these 
insipid  and  disgusting,  is  the  absence  of  one  beloved 
object,  say  a  darling  child. 

VOL,  VI.  T  Whai; 


274  On  numheting  our  Days. 

What  is  life  to  a  man  who  has  become  infamous, 
to  a  man  who  is  execrated  by  his  fellow-creatures, 
who  dares  not  appear  in  public,  lest  his  ears  should 
be  stunned  with  the  voice  of  malediction,  thundering 
in  every  direction  upon  his  head  ? 

What  is  life  to  a  man  deprived  of  health  ;  a  man 
delivered  over  to.  the  physicians ;  a  man  reduced  to 
exist  mechanically,  who  is  nourished  by  merely  stu- 
died aliments,  Vv^ho  digests  only  according  to  the 
rules  of  art,  w'ho  is  able  to  support  a  dying  life  o\\\f 
by  th^  application  of  rem.edies  still  more  disgusting 
than  the  very  maladies  v;hich  they  are  called  in  to 
relieve? 

What  is  life  to  a  man  arrived  at  the  age  of  decre- 
pitude, who  feels  his  faculties  decaying  day  by  day, 
when  he  perceives  himself  becoming  an  object  of  pity 
and  forbearance  to  all  around  him,  or  rather  becom- 
ing absolutely  insupportable  to  every  one ;  when  he 
imagines  he  hears  himself  continually  reproached 
with  being  an  incumbrance  on  the  face  of  the  earth, 
and  that  he  is  occupying,  too  long,  a  place  which  he 
ought  to  resign  to  one  w^ho  might  be  more  useful  to 
society  ? 

But  this  is  not  the  worst  of  the  case.  Nothing 
more  is  necessary  in  many  cases,  than  a  whim,  a  mere 
chimera,  to  disturb  the  happiest  and  most  splendid 
condition  of  human  life. 

Now,  in  which  of  our  days  shall  we  find  those 
pure  joys,  which  no  infusion  of  bitterness  has  poi- 
soned ?  In  which  of  our  days  is  it  possible  for  us  to 
behold  the  perfect  harmony  of  glory  in  the  state  of 
triumph  in  the  church,  of  vigorous  health,  of  pros- 
perous fortune,  of  domestic  peace,  of  mental  tran- 
quillity ?  In  which  of  the  days  of  our  life  did  this 
concurrence  of  felicities  permit  us  to  consider  our- 
selves as  really  happy  ? 

Farther,  if,  in   the   ordinary  current  of  our  days, 
we  had  been  deprived  of  only  a  few  of  the  good  things 
of  life,  while  he  possessed  all  the  rest,  the  great  num- 
ber 


On  numbering  our  Dai/s\  S75 

ber  of  those  which  we  enjoyed,  might  minister 
consolation  under  the  want  of  those  which  Providence 
had  been  pleased  to  with-hold.  But  how  often  would 
an  almost  total  destitution  of  good,  and  an  accumu- 
lation of  wo,  render  life  unsupportable,  did  not  sub- 
mission to  the  will  of  God,  or  rather,  did  not  divine 
aid  enable  us  to  bear  the  ills  of  life  ? 

Shall  I  have  your  permission,  my  brethren,  to  go 
into  a  detail  of  particulars  on  this  head  ?  For  my 
own  part,  who  have  been  in  this  world  during  a  pe- 
riod not  much  longer  than  that  which  the  children 
of  Israel  passed  in  the  wilderness  ;  I  have  scarcely 
heard  any  thing  else  spoken  of,  except  disasters,  de- 
solations, destructive  revolutions.  Scarcely  had  I 
begun  to  know  this  church,  into  which  I  had  been 
admitted  in  baptism,  when  I  was  doomed  to  be  the 
melancholy  spectator  of  the  most  calamitous  events 
which  can  be  presented  to  the  eyes,  or  the  imagina- 
tion of  man.  Have  you  forgotten  them,  my  dear  com- 
patriots, my  beloved  companions  in  affliction,  have 
you  forgotten  those  days  of  darkness  ?  Have  you  for- 
gotten those  cries  of  the  children  of  Edom  :  "Rase  it, 
rase  it,  even  to  the  foundation  thereof,"  Ps.  cxxxvii. 
7.  ^  Have  you  forgotten  those  dead  bodies  of  our  bre- 
thren, "  given  to  be  meat  unto  the  fowls  of  heaven, 
the  flesh  of  the  saints  unto  the  beasts  of  the  earth  ; 
their  blood  shed  like  water  round  about  Jerusalem, 
and  none  to  bury  them,*'  Ps.  Ixxix.  2,  3.? 

In  order  to  escape  calamities  so  many  and  so  griev- 
ous, we  were  reduced  to  the  necessity  of  fleeing  front 
the  place  of  our  birth.  We  were  constrained  to 
drag  about,  from  place  to  place,  a  miserable  life, 
empoisoned  by  the  fatal  shafts  which  had  pierced  us. 
We  were  constrained  to  present  objects  of  compas- 
sion, but  often  importunately  troublesome,  to  the 
nations  whither  we  fled  in  quest  of  a  place  of  re- 
fuge. We  w^ere  reduced  to  the  misery  of  being  in- 
cessantly haunted  with  the  apprehension  of  failing  in 
the  supplies  necessary  to  the   most   pressing  demands 

2  of 


276  On  numbering  our  Days. 

of  life,  and  to  those  of  education,  as  dear  as  even  the 
support  of  Hfe. 

Scarcely  did  we  find  ourselves  under  covert  from 
the  tempest,  when  we  felt  that  we  were  still  exposed 
to  it,  in  the  persons  of  those  with  whom  we  were 
united  in  the  tenderest  bonds.  One  post  run  to  meet 
another^  and  one  messenger  to  meet  another :  to  adopt 
the  prophet^s  expression,  Jer.  li.  31.  to  announce 
dismal  tidings.  Sometimes  the  message  bore,  that 
a  house  had  been  recently  demolished :  sometimes 
that  a  church  had  just  been  sapped  to  the  founda- 
tion ;  sometimes  w^e  heard  the  affecting  history  of  an 
undaunted  believer,  but  v/hose  intrepidity  had  ex- 
posed him  to  the  most  cruel  torments ;  at  another 
time,  it  was  of  a  faint  hearted  Christian  whom  ti- 
midity had  betrayed  into  apostasy,  a  thousand  times 
more  to  be  deplored  than  tortures  and  death  in  their 
most  horrid  form. 

Received  into  countries  whose  charity  extended 
their  arms,  to  embrace  us,  it  seemed  as  if  we  car- 
ried wherever  we  went,  a  part  of  those  disasters  from 
which  we  w^ere  striving  to  make  our  escape.  For 
these  forty  years  past,  my  brethren,  what  repose  has 
Protestant  Europe  enjoyed  ?  One  war  has  succeeded 
to  another  war,  one  plague  to  another  plague,  one 
abyss  to  another  abyss.  And  God  know^s,  God 
only  knows,  whether  the  calamities  which  have  for 
some  time  pressed  these  states  around  on  every  side ; 
God  only  knows  whether  or  not  they  are  to  be  but 
the  beginning  of  sorrows  I  God  only  knows  what 
may  be  preparing  for  us  by  that  avenging  arm 
which  is  ever  lifted  up  against  us,  and  that  flaming 
sword,  whose  tremendous  glare  is  incessantly  daz- 
zling our  eyes  !  God  only  knows  how  long  our  bul- 
warks against  the  ocean  may  be  able  to  withstand 
those  formidable  shocks,  and  those  violent  storms, 
which  an  insulted  God  is  exciting  to  shatter  them  I 

God  knows But  let  us  not  presume  to  draw 

^side 


On  numhering  our  Days,  277 

■aside  the  veil  under  which  Providence  has  been 
pleased  to  conceal  the  destiny  of  these  provinces 
from  our  eyes.  It  is  abundantly  evident,  that  were 
we  to  subtract  from  the  number  of  our  days,  those 
heavy  periods  of  existence,  when  we  hve  only  to 
suffer ;  were  we  to  reckon  the  days  of  prosperity 
alone,  our  life  would  be  reduced  to  an  imperceptible 
duration  ;  we  should  not  discover  any  exaggeration 
in  the  expressions  which  Moses  employs  to  trace  the 
image  of  the  Hfe  of  the  Israelites,  in  the  preceding 
context :  *'  Thou  turnest  man  to  destruction  j  and 
sayest,  Return,  ye  children  of  men  :  thou  carriest 
them  away  as  with  a  flood :  they  are  as  a  sleep :  in 
the  morning  they  are  like  grass  which  groweth  up  : 
In  the  morning  it  flourisheth,  and  groweth  up ;  in 
the  evening  it  is  cut  dov/n  and  withereth. 

3.  Let  us  reckon  the  daijs  of  languor  and  weariness^ 
and  compare  them  with  the  days  of  delight  and  plea- 
sure.  This  particular  must  not  be  confounded  with 
the  preceding.  There  is  a  wide  difference  between 
the  days  which  we  have  called  those  of  adversity^ 
and  whi<:h  we,  under  this  head,  call  days  of  languor 
and  weariness.  By  days  of  adversitij  we  meant  those 
seasons  of  hfe,  in  which  the  privation  of  some  world- 
ly good,  and  the  concurrence  of  many  evils,  render 
us  actually  miserable.  By  days  of  languor  and  z^eati" 
ness  we  now  mean  those  in  which  exemption  from 
the  ills  of  life,  or  the  possession  of  its  good  things, 
leaves  the  mind  void  and  dissatisfied. 

Let  each  of  us  here  recollect  the  history  of  his 
own  life.  How  often  has  a  man  found  himself  a 
prey  to  languor  and  disgust,  in  the  midst  ot  those 
very  pleasures  of  life,  which  he  had  conceived  to  be 
the  most  lively  and  affecting  ?  Objects  in  which  we 
generally  take  the  greatest  dehght,  sometimes  de- 
press us  into  the  most  intolerable  languor.  It  is 
;^requently  suflicient  for  exciting  distaste  in  us  to  an 

object 


^JS  On  numhering  our  Days, 

object,  that  we  once  doated  on  it :  to  such  a  degree 
is  the  will  of  man  capricious,  fluctuating,  and  in- 
constant. Parties  of  pleasure  are  sometimes  pro- 
posed and  formed  ;  the  place,  the  time,  the  company, 
every  thing  is  settled  with  the  most  soUcitous  anxi- 
ety ;  the  hour  is  looked  to  with  eager  impatience, 
and  nothing  less  is  found  than  what  the  fond  imagi- 
nation had  promised  to  itself.  It  is  a  mere  phan- 
toip,  which  had  an  appearance  of  solidity,  when 
viewed  at  a  distance  :  we  approach,  we  embrace  it, 
and  lo,  it  melts  away  into  air,  "  thin  air." 

The  believer  whose  taste  is  purified,  is  undoubted- 
ly better  acquainted  with  this  languor,  when, 
amidst  the  pleasures  of  this  world,  there  occurs  to 
his  mind  one  or  another  ot  the  reflections  which 
have  been  suggested,  respecting  the  vanity  of  all  hu- 
man things :  when  he  says  to  himself,  '*  Not  one  in 
"  this  social  circle,  among  whom  I  am  partaking  of 
"  so  many  delights,  but  would  basely  abandon  me,  if  I 
"  stood  in  need  of  his  assistance,  did  the  happiness  of 
"  my  life  impose  on  him  the  sacrifice  of  one  of  the 
"  dishes  of  his  table,  of  one  of  the  horses  of  his 
"  equipage,  of  one  of  the  trees  of  his  gardens.^' 
When  stating  a  comparison  between  the  tide  of 
pleasure  into  which  he  was  going  to  plunge,  and  those 
which  religion  has  procured  him,  he  thus  reflects : 
'*  This  is  not  the  joy  which  I  taste  when,  alone  with 
"  my  God,  I  pour  out  before  him  a  soul  inflamed  to 
*'  rapture  with  his  love,  and  when  I  collect,  in  rich 
"  profusion,  the  tokens  of  his  grace."  When 
coming  to  perceive  that  he  has  indulged  rather  too 
far  in  social  mirth,  which  is  lawful  only  when  re- 
strained within  certain  bounds,  he  says  within  him- 
self, "  Are  such  objects  worthy  of  the  regard  of  an 
"immortal  soul?  are  these  my  divinities?"  Then 
it  is  he  feels  himself  oppressed  with  languor  and 
disgust ;  then  it  is  that  objects  once  so  eagerly  de- 
sired 


On  mimbemig  our  Dcujs.  579 

sired,  are  regarded  with  coldness  or  aversion.  Hence 
that  seriousness  which  overspreads  his  countenance, 
hence  that  pensive  silence  into  which  he  falls,  in 
spite  of  every  effort  to  the  contrary,  hence  certain 
gloomy  reflections  which  involuntarily  arise  in  his 
soul. 

But  this  languor  is  not  peculiar  to  those  whose 
taste  piety  has  refined.  There  is  a  remarkable  dif- 
ference, however,  in  this  respect,  between  the  men 
of  the  Vv'orld,  and  believers;  namely,  that  the  disgust 
which  the^e  last  feel  in  the  pleasures  of  life,  engages 
them  in  the  pursuit  of  purer  joys,  in  exercises  of  de- 
votion :  whereas  the  others  give  up  the  pursuit  of 
one  worldly  delight,  only  to  hunt  after  a  new  one, 
equally  empty  and  unsatisfying  with  that  which  they 
had  renounced.  From  that  scanty  portion  of  life, 
in  which  we  enjoy  prosperity,  we  must  go  on  to 
subtract  that  other  portion,  in  which  prosperity  is 
insipid  to  us.  Calculate,  if  you  can,  the  poor 
amount  of  what  remains  after  this  subtraction. 

4.  Let  us  reckon  the  claijs  which  we  have  devoted 
to  the  xwrld,  and  compare  them  with  those  which 
we  have  devoted  to  religion.  Humiliating  compu- 
tation I  But  I  take  it  for  granted,  that  in  your  pre- 
sent circumstances,  it  has  been  rendered  famihar  to 
your  thoughts.  Christians  who  have  been  just  con- 
cluding the  year  with  a  participation  of  the  holy  or- 
dinance of  the  Lord's  supper,  could  hardly  fail  to 
have  put  this  question  to  their  consciences,  when 
employed  in  self-examination,  preparatory  to  that 
solemn  service  :  W/iat  proportion  of  mij  time  has  been 
j^iven  to  GodP  What  proportion  of  it  has  been  given  to 
the  world?  And  it  is  sufficient  barely  to  propose 
the  discussion  of  these  questions,  to  come  to  this 
melancholy  conclusion :  That  the  portion  of  our 
life,  which  alone  de.serves  to  be  coi^sidered  as  con- 
taining something  solid  and  substantial,  I  mean  the 
portion  which  has  been  given  to  God,  is  of  a  dura- 
tion 


f  so  On  numbering  our  Dai/s. 

tion  so  short  as  to  be  almost  imperceptible ;  when 
compared  with  the  years  which  the  world  has  en- 
grossed. 

5.  I  proceed  to  the  lasi  computation  proposed. 
What  is  the  amount  of  this  total  of  human  life 
which  we  have  thus  arranged  in  different  columns  ? 
What  is  the  sum  of  this  compound  account  of  days 
of  nothingness  and  days  of  reality  ;  of  days  of  pros- 
perity and  days  of  affliction ;  of  days  of  languor  and 
days  of  delight ;  of  days  devoted  to  the  world,  and 
days  devoted  to  religion  ?  My  brethren,  it  is  God,  it 
is  God  alone,  who  holds  our  times  in  his  hand,  to 
adopt  the  idea  of  the  prophet,  Psal.  xxxi.  \6.  he 
alone  can  make  an  accurate  calculation  of  them. 
And  as  he  alone  has  fixed  the  term  of  our  life,  he 
only  is  likewise  capable  of  knowing  it.  It  is  not 
absolutely  impossible,  however,  to  ascertain  what 
shall  be,  in  respect  of  time,  the  temporal  destination 
of  those  who  hear  me  this  day.  Let  me  suppose  that 
the  present  solemnity  has  drawn  together  an  assem» 
bly  of  eighteen  hundred  person^.  I  subdivide  these 
1800  into  six  different  classes. 

The  1st  consisting  of  persons  from  10  to  20  years 

of  age,  amounting  to , 5:)0 

2d  from  20  to  30  amounting  to 440 

3d...... 30    to    40 34i 

4th 40  to  50 255 

5th 50  to  60. 160 

6th 60  and  upwards 70 

1800 

According  to  the  most  exact  calculations,  of  those 
who  have  made  such  kind  of  researches  their  study, 
each  of  these  classes  must,  in  the  course  of  this  year, 
present  to  death,  a  tribute  of  ten  persons.  On  this 
eomputation,  sixty  of  my  present  hearers  must,  be- 
fore 


On  numbering  our  Dmjs^  fSl 

fore  the  beginning  of  another  year,  be  numbered 
with  the  dead.  Conformably  to  the  same  rate  of 
computation,  in  10   years,  of  the  1800  now  present 

there  will  remain ri70 

In  20  years,  only 830 

In  JO 4s0 

In  40 '2:^0 

In  iO  years,  no  more  will  be  left  than        70 

Thus  you  see,  my  brethren,  in  what  a  perpetual 
flux  the  human  race  is.  The  world  is  a  vast  theatre, 
in  which  every  one  appears  his  moment  upon  the 
stage,  and  in  a  moment  disappears  Every  succes- 
sive instant  presents  different  scenery,  a  new  decora- 
tion. I  represent  the^e  vicissitudes  to  mys^^lf,  under 
the  emblem  of  what  is  felt  by  a  man  who  is  employ- 
ed in  turning  over  the  pages  of  history.  He  pores 
over  his  book,  he  beholds  on  this  leaf,  one  people, 
one  king :  he  turns  it,  and  lo,  other  laws,  other 
maxims,  other  actors,  which  have  no  manner  of  re- 
lation to  what  preceded  them  1 


SERMON 


^,«*- 


SERMON  IX. 


PART  II; 


On  Numbering  our  Days, 


Psalm  xc.  19, 


So  teach  lis  to  numoer  our  daijSy  that  xi}e  may  apply  our 
heorts  unto  wisdom, 

WE  have  seen  to  what  a  measure  human  life 
is  reduced.  To  be  made  sensible  of  this 
is  a  very  high  attainment  in  knowledge  ;  but  it 
is  of  still  higher  importance,  thence  to  deduce 
conclusions,  which  have  a  tendency  to  regulate  the 
workings  of  your  mind,  the  emotions  of  your 
heart,  the  conduct  of  your  life :  and  to  assist  you  in 
this,  is, 

II.  The  second  object  which  we  proposed  to  our- 
selves in  this  discourse.  This  is  what  the  prophet 
asks  of  God  in  the  text,  this  we  would  earnestly  im- 
plore in  your  behalf,  and  this  prayer  we  wish  you  to 

adopt 


284?  On  number ing  our  Daijs. 

adopt  for  yourselves :  Lord^  so  teach  us  to  number  our 
datjs^  that  zi;e  maij  appljj  our  hearts  unto  zc'isdom* 

1.  The  first  conclusion  deducible  from  the  re- 
presentation given,  is  this :  the  vanity  of  the  life 
which  now  is,  affords  the  clearest  proof  of  the  life  to 
come.  This  proof  is  sensible,  and  it  possesses  two 
advantages  over  all  those  which  philosophy  supplies, 
toward  demonstrating  the  immortality  of  the  soul. 
The  proof  of  our  immortality,  taken  from  the  spiri- 
tuality of  the  soul,  has,  perhaps,  a  great  deal  of  so- 
lidity ;  but  it  is  neither  so  sensible,  nor  so  incon- 
testable. I  am  lost,  when  I  attempt  to  carry  my  me- 
taphysical speculations  into  the  interior  of  substances. 
I  do  not  well  know  what  to  reply  to  an  opponent 
who  presses  me  with  such  questions  as  these  :  "  Do 
^'  you  know  every  thing  that  a  substance  is  capable 
*'  of  .^  Are  your  intellectual  powers  such  as  to  qua- 
*'  lify  you  to  pronounce  this  decision,  Such  a  sub* 
"  stance  is  capable  only  of  this,  and  such  another  only  of 
'^  thatr  This  difficulty,  at  least,  always  recurs, 
namely,  that  a  soul,  spiritual  and  immortal  of  its 
own  nature,  may  be  deprived  of  immortality,  should 
it  please  that  God  who  called  it  into  existence,  to 
reduce  it  to  a  state  of  annihilation. 

But  the  proof  which  we  have  alleged  is  sensible, 
it  is  incontestable.  I  can  make  the  force  of  it  to  be 
felt  by  a  peasant,  by  an  artisan,  by  the  dullest  of  hu- 
man iDcings.  And  I  am  bold  enough  to  bid  defiance 
to  the  acutest  genius,  to  the  most  dexterous  sophist, 
to  advance  any  thing  that  deserves  the  name  of  rea- 
soning in  contradiction  to  it.  How  I  is  it  pos- 
sible  that  this  soul  capable  of  reflecting,  of  rea- 
soning, of  laying  down  principles,  of  deducing  con- 
sequences, of  knowing  its  Creator,  and  of  serving 
him,  should  have  been  created  for  the  purpose 
merely  of  acting  the  poor  part  which  man  fills  on 
the  earth  ?  How  I  the  souls  of  those  myriads  of  in- 
fants, who  die  before  they  are  born,  to  be  annihi- 
lated, after  having  animated,  for  a  few  months,  an 

embryo. 


On  nutnhenng  our  Dap.  285 

embryo,  a  mass  of  unfinished  organs,  which  nature 
did  not  deign  to  carry  on  to  perfection  I  How  I 
The  Abrahams,  the  Moseses,  the  Davids,  and  the 
multitudes  of  those  other  holy  men,  to  whom  God 
made  so  many  and  such  gracious  promises,  shall 
they  cease  to  be,  after  having  been  strangers  and  pil- 
grims upon  the  earth  ?  How  !  that  cloud  of  zoitnesses-^ 
who,  rather  than  deny  the  truth,  submitted  lo  be 
stoned^  to  be  sawn  asunder^  to  be  tempted^  to  be  slam 
with  the  sicord,  who  n'midered  about  in  sheep- skins-, 
and  goa: -skins ^  being  destitute^  ajflicted^  tonuenied; 
Heb.  xi.  13,  37?  How!  That  cloud  of  ziutnesses 
evaporate  into  smoke,  and  the  souls  of  martyrs  pass 
into  annihilation  amidst  the  tortures  inflicted  by  an 
executioner !  Ye  confessors  of  Jesus  Christ,  who 
have  borne  his  reproach  for  thirty  years  together, 
who  have  yielded  up  your  back  to  the  rod  of  a  tor- 
mentor, who  have  lived  a  life  more  painful  than 
death  in  its  most  horrid  form  I  You  to  have  no  other 
reward  of  all  your  labours  and  sniferings,  except 
those  poor  gratuities  which  man  bestows  after  you 
have  finished  your  career?  Howl  those  noble  fa- 
culties of  soul  bestowed  on  man,  merely  to  sit,  for 
a  few  years,  upon  a  tribunal,  for  a  few  years  to  dip 
into  arts  and  sciences  ?  .  .  .  .  What  brain  could  di- 
gest the  thought  I  What  subtilty  of  metaphysiCciI 
research,  what  ingcniousness  of  sophistry  can  en- 
feeble the  proof  derived  from  such  appearaiices  as 
these  ?  O  brevity  of  the  present  economy  !  0 
vanity  of  human  life  1  O  miseries  upon  miseries 
with  which  my  days  are  depressed,  distracted,  em- 
poisoned, I  will  complain  of  you  no  longer  I  I  be- 
hold light  the  most  cheering,  the  most  transporting, 
ready  to  burst  forth  from  the  bosom  of  that  gloomy 
liight  into  which  you  have  plunged  me  !  you  con- 
duct me  to  the  grand,  the  animating  doctrine  of 
immortality  !  The  vanity  of  th.e  present  life,  is  the 
proof  of  the  life  which  is  to  co:r.e.  This  is  our  first 
conclusion. 

2.  The 


^86  On  numhenng  our  Dai/i, 

9,  The  second  conclusion  v/e  deduce  is  this : 
neither  the  good  things,  nor  the  evil,  of  a  Hfe  which 
passes  away  with  so  much  rapidity,  ought  to  make  a 
very  deep  impression  on  a  soul  whose  duration  is 
eternal.  Do  not  tax  me  of  extravagance.  1  have 
no  intention  to  preach  a  hyperbohcal  morahty.  I  do 
not  mean  to  maintain  such  a  wild  position  as  this, 
"  That  there  is  no  reality  in  either  the  enjoyments 
*'  or  the  distresses  of  life  :  that  there  is  a  mixture  in 
•*  every  human  condition,  which  reduces  all  to 
"  equality :  that  the  man  who  sits  at  a  plentiful 
"table  is  not  a  whit  happier  than  the  man  who 
"  begs  his  bread.'*  This  is  not  our  gospel.  Tem- 
poral evils  are  unquestionably  real.  Were  this  life  of 
very  long  duration,  I  would  deem  the  condition  of 
the  rich  man  incomparably  preferable  to  that  of  the 
poor ;  that  of  the  man  who  commands,  to  that  of 
him  who  obeys ;  that  of  one  who  enjoys  perfect 
health,  to  that  of  one  who  is  stretched  on  a  bed  of  lan- 
guishing. But  however  real  the  enjoyments  and  the 
distresses  of  life  may  be  in  themselves,  their  tran- 
sient duration  invalidates  that  reahty.  You,  who  have 
passed  thirty  years  in  affliction  I  there  are  thirty  years 
of  painful  existence  vanished  away.  You,  whose 
woes  have  been  lengthened  out  to  forty  years  !  There, 
are  forty  years  of  a  life  of  sorrow  vanished  away. 
And  you  who,  for  these  thirty,  forty,  fifty  years 
past,  have  been  living  at  ease,  and  drowned  in  plea- 
sure !  What  is  become  of  those  years  ?  The  time 
which  both  the  one  and  the  other  has  yet  to  live, 
is  scarcely  worth  the  reckoning,  and  is  flying  away 
with  the  same  rapidity.  If  the  brevity  of  life  does 
not  render  all  conditions  equal,  it  fills  up,  at  least, 
the  greatest  part  of  that  abyss  which  cupidity  had 
placed  between  them.  Let  us  reform  our  ideas :  let 
us  correct  our  style :  do  not  let  us  call  a  man  happy 
because  he  is  in  health :  do  not  let  us  call  a  sick 
man  miserable  :  let  us  not  call  that  absolute  felicity, 
which   is  only  borrowed,   transitory,    ready   to   flee 

away 


On  numbering  our  Days,  g87 

away  with  life  itself.  Immortal  beings  ought  to 
make  immortality  the  standard  by  which  to  regulate 
their  ideas  of  happiness  and  misery.  Neither  the 
good  things,  nor  the  evil,  of  a  life  so  transient, 
ought  to  make  a  very  deep  impression  on  a  soul  whose 
duration  is  eternal.  This  was  our  second  conclu- 
sion. 

3.  But  if  I  be  immortal,  what  have  I  to  do 
among  the  dying  ?  If  I  be  destined  to  a  never  end- 
ing duration,  wherefore  am  I  doomed  to  drag  out  a 
miserable  life  upon  the  earth  ?  If  the  blessings  and 
the  miseries  of  this  life  are  so  disproportionate  to  my 
natural  greatness,  wherefore  have  they  been  given 
to  me  ?  Wherefore  does  the  Creator  take  a  kind  of 
pleasure  in  laying  snares  for  my  innocence,  by  pre- 
senting to  me  delights  which  may  become  the  source 
of  everlasting  misery ;  and  by  conducting  me  to  eternal 
felicity,  through  the  sacrifice  of  every  present  com- 
fort ?  This  difficulty,  my  brethren,  this  pressing 
difficulty  leads  us  to, 

A  third  conclusion  :  this  life  is  a  season  of  proba- 
tion, assigned  to  us  for  the  purpose  of  making  our 
choice  between  everlasting  happiness  or  misery.  This 
life,  considered  as  it  is  in  itself,  is  an  object  of  con- 
tempt. We  may  say  of  it,  with  the  sacred  writers, 
that  it  is  a  shadow  zvhich  passeth  Qwnij ;  a  vanitij^  which 
has  nothing  real  and  solid  ;  a  Jlozcer  which  fadeth ; 
grass  which  withereth  and  is  cut  down ;  a  vapour 
which  dissolves  into  air ;  a  dream  which  leaves  no 
trace  after  the  sleep  is  gone  ;  a  thought  which  pre- 
sents itself  to  the  mind,  but  abideth  not ;  an  appari- 
tion^ a  nothing  before  God. 

But  when  we  contemplate  this  life,  in  its  relation 
to  the  great  end  which  God  proposes  to  himself,  in 
bestowing  it  upon  us,  let  us  form  exalted  ideas  of  it. 
Let  us  carefully  compute  all  its  subdivisions ;  let  us 
husband,  with  scrupulous  attention,  all  the  instants 
of  it,  even  the  most  minute  and  imperceptible ;  let 

1  us 


28 S  On  numbering  our  Dap, 

us  regret  the  precious  moments  which  we  have  ir- 
recoverably lost.  For  this  shadow  which  passeth, 
this  vamti/  which  has  nothing  real  and  solid,  this 
floxoer  which  fadeth,  this  grass  which  is  cut  down 
and  withereth,  this  vapour  which  melteth  into  air, 
this  forgotten  drearn^  this  transient  thought^  this  appa- 
rition destitute  of  body  and  substance,  this  nothings 
this  span  of  life,  so  vile  and  contemptible,  is  time 
which  we  must  redeem,  £ph.  v.  16.  «  time  of  visita- 
tion which  we  must  knozv,  Luke  xix.  44  :  a  time  ac- 
cepted, a  daij  of  salvation  which  we  must  improve^ 
2  Cor.  vi,  2  ;  a  period  of  forbearance^  and  long-suf- 
fering  which  we  must  embrace,  Rom.  ii  4.  a  time 
beyond  which  there  shall  be  time  no  longer^  Rev.  x.  6. 
because  after  life  is  finished,  tears  are  unavailing, 
sighs  are  impotent,  prayers  are  disregarded,  and  re-* 
pentance  is  ineffectual.     We  proceed  to  deduce  a 

4.  Fourth  conclusion  :  a  life  through  w'hich  more 
time  has  been  devoted  to  a  present  world,  than  to 
preparation  for  eternity,  corresponds  not  to  the 
views  which  the  Creator  proposed  to  himself,  when 
he  placed  us  in  this  economy  of  expectation.  We 
were  placed  in  this  state  of  probation,  not  to  sleep, 
to  eat,  and  to  drink,  we  v/ere  placed  here  to  prepare 
for  eternity.  If  therefore  we  have  devoted  more  of 
our  time  to  such  functions  as  these,  than  to  prepa- 
ration for  eternity  ;  if,  at  least,  we  have  not  adapted 
these  functions  to  the  leading  object  of  eternity  ;  if 
we  have  not  been  governed  by  that  maxim  of  St 
Paul,  1  Cor.  X.  3 ;  :  Whether  ye  eat  or  drink^  or 
zvhatsoever  ye  do,  do  all  to  the  glorif  of  God,  we  cer- 
tainly have  not  conformed  to  the  views  which  the 
Creator  proposed  to  himself,  in  placing  us  under  this 
economy  of  expectation  and  trial. 

We  were  placed  in  this  state  of  probation,  not 
merely  to  labour  for  the  provision  and  establishment 
of  our  families ;  we  are  pi  iced  here  to  prepare  for 
eternity.  If,  therefore,  vve  have  devoted  more  of 
our  time  and  attention  to  the  provision  and  estabHsh- 

3  ment 


On  mmhering  our  Dai/s\  ^S9 

ment  of  our  families,  than  to  preparation  for  eter- 
nity ,~  if,  at  least,  we  have  not  adapted  to  the  lead- 
ing object  of  eternity,  our  soHcitude  and  exertions 
in  behalf  of  oiir  families,  we  certainly  have  not  con- 
formed to  the  views  which  the  Creator  proposed  to 
himself,  in  placing  us  under  this  economy  of  expec- 
tation and  trial. 

We  were  placed  In  this  state  of  probation,  not 
merely  to  govern  states,  to  cultivate  arts  and  scien- 
ces ;  we  are  placed  here  to  prepare  for  eternity.  If, 
therefore,  we  have  not  directed  all  our  anxieties  and 
exertions,  on  such  subjects  as  these,  to  the  leading  ob- 
ject of  eternity,  we  certainly  have  not  conformed  to 
the  views  which  the  Creator  proposed  to  himself,  in 
placing  us  under  this  economy  of  expectation  and 
triaL  Imagine  not  that  we  shall  be  judged  accord- 
ing to  the  ideas  \vhich  we  ourselves  are  pleased  to 
form  of  our  vocation.  We  are  under  an  economy 
of  expectation  and  trial  :  time  then  is  given  us,  that 
we  may  prepare  for  eternity.  A  life,  therefore, 
throusfh  which  more  time  and  attention  have  been 
devoted  to  the  pursuits  of  this  world,  than  to  pre- 
paration for  eternity  ;  corresponds  not  to  the  views 
which  the  Creator  proposed  to  himself,  when  he 
placed  us  under  this  economy  of  expectation  and 
trial.     This  is  the  fourth  conclusion. 

5.  We  go  on  to  deduce  a  fifth  :  A  sinner  who  has 
not  conformed  to  the  views  which  God  proposed  to 
himself  in  placing  him  under  an  economy  of  discip- 
line and  probation,  ought  to  pour  out  his  soul  in 
thanksgiving,  that  God  is  graciously  pleased  still  to 
lengthen  it  out.  Let  each  of  you  who,  ^n  taking  a 
review  of  his  own  life,  must  bear  the  dreadful  testi- 
mony against  himseli",  that  he  has  most  miserably 
deviated  from  the  views  of  his  Creator,  present  to 
God  this  day,  a  heart  overflowing  with  gratitude, 
that  this  tremendous  sentence  has  not  yet  been  ful- 
minated  against   him  :  "  Giv^   an  account   of    thy 

VOL.  VI.  U  stewardship/' 


290  On  numbering  our  Days, 

stewardship,"  Luke  xvi.  2.  It  is  for  this  that  life 
ought  to  be  prized  as  infinitely  dear ;  for  this  we 
have  unspeakable  cause  to  rejoice,  that  we  still  be- 
hold the  light  of  this  day. 

"  I  have  been  in  the  world  these  thirty,  forty, 
*'  threescore  years  ;  and  ever  since  I  arrived  at  the 
"  exercise  of  reason,  and  felt  the  power  of  consci- 
"  ence,  I  have  enjoyed  every  advantage  toward  at- 
"  taining  the  knowledge,  and  exhibiting  the  prac- 
"  tice  of  religion.  Every  display  of  mercy,  and 
"  every  token  of  fatherly  displeasure  have  been  em- 
**  ployed  to  reclaim  me.  Not  a  book  written  to 
"  convince  the  understanding,  but  what  has  been 
"  put  into  my  hands ;  not  a  sermon  calculated  to 
"  move  and  to  melt  the  heart,  but  what  has  been 
"  addressed  to  my  ears.  My  corruption  has  prov- 
'*  ed  too  powerful  for  them  all.  My  life  has  been  a 
"  tissue,  if  not  of  enormous  crimes,  at  least  of  dissi- 
**  pation  and  thoughtlessness.  If  at  any  time  I  have 
"  shaken  off  my  habits  of  listlessness  and  inaction, 
"  it  was  usually  only  to  run  into  excesses,  which 
"  have  already  precipitated  so  many  precious  souls 
"  into  hell.  When  visited  with  sickness,  when  death 
"  seemed  to  stare  me  in  the  face,  I  seemed  to  be- 
"  hold,  collected  into  one  fatal  moment,  all  the  sins 
*'  of  my  life,  and  all  the  dreadful  punishments  which 
"  they  deserve.  I  carried  a  hell  within  me  ;  I  be- 
"  lieved  myself  to  be  encompassed  by  daemons  and 
"  flames  of  fire  ;  I  became  my  own  executioner, 
"  when  I  called  to  remembrance  that  wretched  time 
"  which  I  had  lavished  on  the  world  and  its  lying 
"  vanities  ;  and  I  would  have  sacrificed  my  life  a 
"  thousand  and  a  thousand  times  to  redeem  it,  had 
*'  God  put  it  in  my  power  ;  I  would  have  given  the 
"  whole  world  to  bring  back  but  one  poor  moment 
*'  of  that  precious  time  which  I  had  so  prodigally 
*'  squandered  away  ;  and  God  in  mercy  ineffable,  is 
"  still  prolonging  that  day  of  visitation.'^ 

6.  Finally,  we  farther  deduce  a  sixth  conclusion  : 

Creatures 


On  Slumbering  our  Days,  29 1 

Creatures  in  whose  favour  God  is  pleased  still  to 
lengthen  out  the  day  of  grace,  the  economy  of  long^ 
suffering,  which  they  have  improved  to  so  little  pur- 
pose, ought  no  longer  to  delay,  no  not  for  a  moment, 
to  avail  themselves  of  a  reprieve  so  graciously  in- 
tended. Creatures  who  stand  on  the  brink  of  the 
grave,  and  who  have  too  just  ground  to  fear  that 
they  should  be  thrust  into  hell,  were  the  grave  im- 
mediately to  swallow  them  up,  ought  instantly  to 
form  a  new  plan  of  life,  and  instantly  to  set  about 
the  execution  of  it.  I  conjure  you,  my  brethren,  by 
the  gospel  of  this  day,  I  conjure  you  by  all  that  is 
powerful,  all  that  is  interesting,  all  that  is  tender,  in 
the  solemnity  which  we  are  now  assembled  to  cele- 
brate, and  in  that  of  last  Lord's  day  :  I  conjure  you 
to  enter  in  good  earnest  into  the  spirit  of  this  reflec- 
tion, to  keep  it  constantly  in  view  through  every 
instant  of  the  years  which  the  patience  of  God  may 
still  grant  you.  to  make  it  as  it  were  the  rule  of  all 
your  designs,  all  your  undertakings,  of  all  your  exer- 
tions. Without  this  we  can  do  nothing  for  you. 
The  most  ardent  prayers  which  we  could  address  to 
heaven  on  your  behalf,  this  day  would  be  as  inef- 
fectual as  those  which  Moses  formerly  presented  in 
behalf  of  the  children  of  Israel,  to  obtain  a  revoca- 
cation  of  that  awful  doom  :  *'  I  sware  in  my  wrath, 
that  they  should  not  enter  into  my  rest,"  Fs.  xcv. 
11.  But  if,  on  the  contrary,  you  are  wise  to  admit 
the  word  of  exliortation,  we  are  warranted  to  hold 
np  our  wishes  for  your  salvation,  as  so  many  pro- 
mises sealed,  with  that  seal  of  God  which  standeth 
sure,  and  immediately  emanating  from  the  mouth  (^^ 
that  God,  the  Lord  who  changeth  not. 

Application. 

I  have  embraced  with  avidity,  my  dearly  beloved 
brethren,  the  opportunity  of  contributing  to  the  pre- 
sent solemnity,  to  come  to  you  at  a  juncture  so  de- 
2  sirable./ 


^03  On  numbering  our  Days, 

sirable,  and  to  bring  to  yoii  the  word  of  life,  at  a 
season  when  1  am  at  liberty  to  unfold  to  you  a  heart 
which  has  ever  been  penetrated  with  a  respectful 
tenderness  for  this  city,  and  for  this  church.  Deign 
to  accept  iny  affectionate  good  wishes,  with  senti- 
ments conformable  to  those  which  dictated  them. 
Venerable  magistrates,  to  whose  hands  Providence 
has  committed  the  reins  of  government,  you  are 
exalted  to  a  station  which  our  devotions  contemplate 
with  respect !  But  we  are  the  ministers  of  a  Master 
whose  commands  control  the  universe ;  and  it  is 
from  the  inexhaustible  source  of  his  greatness,  of 
his  riches,  of  his  magnificence,  that  we  draw  the 
benedictions  which  we  this  day  pronounce  upon 
your  august  heads.  May  God  vouchsafe  to  inspire 
you  with  that  dignity  of  sentiment,  that  magnanimi- 
ty, that  noble  ambition,  which  enable  the  sovereigns 
to  whom  he  has  entrusted  the  sword  of  his  justice, 
to  found  on  the  basis  of  justice,  all  their  designs  and 
all  their  decisions  I  May  it  please  God  to  inspire 
you  with  that  charity,  that  condescension,  that  af- 
fability which  sink  the  master  in  the  father  !  May  it 
please  God  to  inspire  you  with  that  humility,  that 
self-abasement  which  engage  Christian  magistrates 
to  deposit  all  their  power  at  the  feet  of  God,  and  to 
consider  it  as  their  highest  glory  to  render  unto  him 
a  faithful  account  of  their  administration  !  That  ac- 
count is  a  solemn  one.  You  are,  to  a  certain  degree, 
responsible,  not  only  for  the  temporal,  but  for  the 
eternal  happiness  of  this  people.  The  eternal  hap- 
piness of  a  nation  frequently  depends  on  the  mea- 
sures adopted  by  their  governors,  on  the  care  which 
they  employ  to  curb  licentiousness,  to  suppress 
scandalous  publications,  to  procure  respect  for  the 
ordinances  of  religion,  and  to  supply  the  church  with 
enlightened,  zealous  and  faithful  pastors.  But  ma- 
gistrates who  propose  to  themselves  views  of  such 
extensive  utility  and  importance,  are  warranted  to 

expect 


On  numhering  our  Days.  29S 

expect  from  God,  all  the  aid  necessary  to  the  ac- 
complishment of  them.  And  this  aid,  great  God, 
we  presume  to  implore  in  behalf  of  these  illustrious 
personages  !  May  our  voice  pierce  the  heavens,  may 
our  prayers  be  crowned  with  an  answer  of  peace  ! 

Pastors,  my  dear  companions  in  the  great  plan  of 
salvation,  ye  successors  of  apostolic  men  in  the  edi^ 
Jying  of  the  bochj  of  Christy  and  in  the  work  of  the  mi^ 
nistry  !  God  has  set  very  narrow  bounds  to  what  is 
called  in  the  language  of  the  world,  our  advance- 
ment and  our  fortune.  The  religion  which  we  pro- 
fess, permits  us  not  to  aspire  after  those  proud  titles, 
those  posts  of  distinction,  those  splendid  retinues 
which  confound  the  ministers  of  temporal  princes 
with  the  ministers  of  that  Jesus  whose  kingdom  is  not 
of  this  world.  But  whatever  we  lose  with  respect  to 
those  advantages  which  dazzle  the  senses,  is  amply 
compensated  to  us  in  real  and  solid  blessings ;  at 
least  if  we  ourselves  understand  that  religion  which 
we  make  known  to  others,  and  if  we  have  a  due 
sense  of  that  high  vocation  with  which  we  are  ho- 
noured of  God.  Slay  thatGod,  who  hasconferred  this 
honour  upon  us,  vouchsafe  to  endow  us  with  that 
illumination,  and  with  those  virtues,  yvithout  which 
it  is  impossible  for  us  to  discharge  the  duties  of  it  ia 
a  becoming  manner  !  May  he  vouchsafe  to  bestow 
upon  us  that  courage,  that  intrepidity,  which  are 
necessary  to  our  effectually  resisting  the  enemies  of 
our  holy  reformation,  nay,  those  too,  who,  under  the 
name  of  reformed,  do  their  utmost  to  thwart  and  to 
imdermine  it !  May  he  vouchsafe  to  support  us 
amidst  the  incessant  difficulties  and  opposition  which 
we  have  to  encounter,  through  the  course  of  our  mi- 
nistry, and  to  animate  us  by  the  idea  of  those  su- 
pereminent  degrees  of  glory,  which  await  those  who, 
after  having  "  turned  many  to  righteousness,  shall 
shine  as  the  brightness  of  the  firmament,  and  as  the 
stars  for  ever  and  ever  ! 

Merchants,  ye  who  are  the  support  of  this  Re- 
public, 


394  On  numherhig  6ur  Days. 

public,  and  who  maintain  in  the  midst  of  us  pro- 
sperity and  abundance,  may  God  vouchsafe  to  con* 
tinue  his  blessing  upon  your  commerce  !  May  God 
cause  the  winds  and  the  waves,  nature  and  the  ele- 
ments, to  unite  their  influences  in  your  favour*!  But 
above  all,  may  God  vouchsafe  to  teach  you  the  great 
art  of  "  placing  your  heart  there  where  your  trea-* 
sure  is  ;  to  make  to  3^ourselves  friends  of  the  mam- 
mon of  unrighteousness  ;  to  sanctify  your  prosperi- 
ty by  your  charities,  especially  on  a  day  like  this, 
on  which  every  one  ought  to  prescribe  to  himself 
the  law  of  paying  an  homage  of  charity  to  God  who 
is  love^  and  whose  love  has  spared  us  to  behold  the 
light  of  this  day  !  '  \.. 

Fathers  and  mothers,  with  whom  it  is  so  delici- 
ous for  me  to  blend  myself,  under  an  address  so 
deeply  interesting,  may  God  enable  us  to  view  our 
children,  not  as  beings  limited  to  a  present  world, 
but  as  beings  endowed  with  an  immortal  soul,  and 
formed  for  eternity  !  May  it  please  God  to  impress 
infinitely  more  upon  our  hearts  the  desire  of  one 
day,  beholding  them  among  the  blessed  in  the  king- 
dom of  heaven,  than  going  on  and  prospering  on 
the  earth  !  May  God  grant  us  the  possession  of  ob- 
jects so  endeared,  to  the  very  close  of  life,  objects  so 
necessary  to  the  enjoyment  of  life  !  May  God  vouch- 
safe, if  he  is  pleased  to  take  them  away  from  us,  to 
grant  us  that  submission  to  his  will,  which  enables 
us  to  support  a  calamity  so  severe  ! 

My  dearly  beloved  brethren,  this  reflection  chokes 
my  utterance.  May  God  vouchsafe  to  hear  all  the 
wishes  and  prayers  which  my  heart  has  conceived, 
and  which  my  lips  have  uttered,  and  all  those  which 
I  am  constrained  to  suppress,  and  which  are  more  in 
number  than  the  tonfrue  is  able  to  declare  !  Amen, 


SER. 


SERMON  X, 

Tht  true  Glory  of  the  Chrisfian. 


Galatians  vi.  U. 


But  God  forbid  that  I  should  glory  ^  save  in  the  cross  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christy  by  vshom  the  zvorldis  crucifix 
ed  unto  me,  and  I  unto  the  world. 


THE  solemnity  which  in  a  few  days,  we  are  go- 
ing to  celebrate,  I  mean  the  Ascension  of 
Jesus  Christ,  displays  the  triumph  of  the  cross.  The 
Saviour  of  the  world  ascending  in  a  cloud,  received 
up  into  heaven  amidst  the  acclamations  of  the  church 
triumphant,  removes  the  offence  given  by  the  Savi- 
our of  the  world  hanging  on  a  tree.  The  period  of 
the  crucifixion  1  acknowledge,  was  precisely  that  in 
which  he  carried  magnanimity  to  its  most  exalted 
pitch.  Never  did  he  appear  so  truly  great  as  when 
"-descended  into  the  lower  parts  of  the  earth,^^  Eph. 
iv.  9.  'Miumbled,  made  of  no  reputation,  obedient 
unto  death,  even  the  death  of  the  cross,"  Phil.  ii.  7, 
8.  he  accomplished  what  was  most  repulsive  to  na- 
ture, in  the  plan  of  Redemption.  But  how  difficult 
is  it  to  recognize  heroism,  when  the  hero  terminates 
hiG  career  upon  a  scaffold  ! 

The 


^96  Ths  true  Glory  of  the  Christian, 

The  darkness  which  overspread  the  mystery  of  the 
cross,  is  passing  away  ;  the  vails  which  concealed 
the  glory  of  Jesus  Christ,  begin  to  withdraw  ;  hea- 
ven, which  seenaed  to  have  conspired  with  earth  and 
with  hell,  to  depress  and  overwhelm  him,  declares 
aloud  in  his  favoiir;  his  splendour  bursts  out  of  ob- 
scurity, and  his  glory  from  the  very  bosom  of  shame  : 
because  "  he  made  hiniself  of  no  reputation,  and 
took  upon  him  the  form  of  a  servant ;  because  he 
humbled  himself;  because  he  became  obedient  unto 
death,  even  the  death  of  the  cross  :  therefore  God 
also  hath  highly  exalted  him,  and  given  him  a  name 
which  is  above  every  name;  that  at  the  name  of 
Jesus  every  kaee  should  bow,  of  things  in  heaven, 
and  things  in  earth,  and  things  under  the  earth,^' 
Phil.  ii.  9,  10. 

What  circumstances  more  proper  could  we  have 
selected,  Christians,  to  induce  ypu  to  seek  your  glory 
ia  the  cross  of  your  Saviour,  than  those  which  dis- 
play it  followed  by  so  much  pomp  and  magnifi- 
cence ?  I  am  going  to  propose  to  you  as  a  model, 
the  man  who  of  all  others,  best  understood  the  my- 
stery of  the  cross  :  for  my  part,  says  he,  in  the  words 
which  I  have  read,  "  God  forbid  that  I  should  glory, 
save  in  the  cross  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  by  whom 
the  w^orld  is  crucified  unto  me,  and  I  unto  the 
world."  Let  ps  meditate  on  this  subject,  with  all 
that  application  of  thought  whirh  it  so  justly  merits. 

And  thou  great  High  Priest,  "  Minister  of  the 
true  tabernacle  !  thou  holy,  harmless,  undehled,  se- 
parate from  sinners,  and  made  higher  than  the  hea- 
vens ;  set  on  the  right  hand  of  the  throne  of  the  Ma- 
jesty in  the  heavens,^'  Heb,  vii.  26.  viii.  2,  1.  gra- 
ciously look  down  on  this  people,  now  combating 
xmder  the  banners  of  the  cross  !  It  is  impossible  for 
lis  to  call  to  remembrance  the  great  day  of  thy  ex- 
altation, without  fixing  our  eyes  upon  thee,  with 
those  blessed  disciples  of  thine  who  were  the  wit- 
nesses of  itj  without  followjngthee,  as  they  did  with 

the 


The  true  Glory  of  the  Christian.  297 

the  bodily  organ,  and  with  all  the  powers  of  tliought, 
and  without  crying  out,  "Draw  us,  Lord,  we  will 
run  after  thee,'^  Cant.  i.  4.  But  in  giving  way  to 
such  desires,  we  misunderstand  the  nature  of  our 
vocation.  We  must  combat  as  thou  hast  done,  in 
order  to  triumph  with  thee.  Well  be  it  so  !  *'  Teach 
my  hands  to  war,  and  my  fingers  to  tight,"  Ps, 
cxUv.  1.  Teach  us  to  make  thy  cross  a  ladder, 
whereon  to  mount  to  thy  throne.     Amen. 

The  text  which  we  have  announced,  is,  as  it  were, 
a  conclusion  deduced  from  the  chapters  Wiiich  pre- 
cede it.  We  cannot  possibly  have  a  clear  compre- 
hension of  it,  without  a  general  recollection  of  the 
whole  Epistle  from  which  it  is  taken.  St  Paul  in 
writing  to  the  Galatiaus,  has  this  principally  in  view, 
to  revive  the  spirit  of  Christianity,  which  he  himself 
had  diffused  over  the  whole  province  of  Galatia. 
Never  had  preacher  greater  success,  than  the  mini- 
stry of  our  apostle  was  attended  with  in  tiiis  city  of 
the  Lesser  Asia.  He  himself  gives  this  honourable 
testimony  in  favour  of  the  Galatians,  in  chap.  iv. 
ver,  lo.  that  "they  had  received  him  as  an  angel 
of  God,^^  and,  which  is  saying  still  more,  "even  as 
Christ  Jesus.  But  the  Gauls  of  which  this  people 
was  a  colony,  have,  in  all  ages,  been  reproached  with 
the  faculty  of  easily  taking  impressions,  and  of  los- 
ing them  with  equal  facility,  The  sentiments  with 
which  St  Paul  had  inspired  them,  shared  the  fate  of 
all  violent  sensations;  th^t  is,  they  were  of  no  great 
duration.  With  this  he  upbraids  them  in  the  very 
beginning  of  the  Epistle.  1  marvel^  says  he  to  them, 
chap.  i.  6.  "I  niarvel  that  ye  are  so  soon  removed 
from  him  that  called  you  into  the  grace  of  Christ, 
unto  another  gospel.'^  Mark  the  expression,  re^ 
moved  unto  another  gospel. 

We  are  not  possessed  of  memoirs  of  the  first  ages 
of  the  church  sufficiently  ample  to  enable  us  to  de- 
termine with  precision,  who  were  the  authois  of  a 
revolution  so  deplorable.    But  if  we  may  give  credit 

to 


The  true  Glory  of  the  Christian*         298 

to  two  of  the  earliest  historians,  to  whom  we  are  in- 
debted for  the  most  complete  accounts  which  we 
have  of  the  first  fathers  of  heresy,  I  mean  Philostra- 
tus   and  St  Epiphanius ;    it  was  Cerinthus  himself, 
in  the  first  instance,  and  his  disciples  afterwards  who 
marred  the  good  seed  which  St  Paul  had  sown  in 
the  church  of  Galatia.     One  thing  is  certain,  name- 
ly, that  respect  for  the  ceremonial  observances  which 
God  himself  had  prescribed  in  a  manner  so  solemn, 
and  particularly  for  the  law  of  circumcision,  was  the 
reason,  or  rather  the  pretext,  of  v^^hich  the  adversaries 
of  our  apostle  availed  themselves  to  destroy  the  fruits 
of  his  ministry,  by  exciting  suspicions  against  the 
soundness  of  his  doctrine.     St  Paul  goes  to  the  root 
of  the  evil :  he  conveys  just  ideas  of  these  cere- 
monial institutions  ;  he  demonstrates,  that  however 
venerable  the  origin  of  them  might  be,  and  whatever 
the  wisdom  displayed  in  their  establishment,  they 
had  never  been  laid  down  as  the  essential  part  of  re- 
ligion, much  less  still,  as  the  true  means  of  reconcil- 
ing men  to  God.     We  perceive  at  first  sight,   this 
design  of  the  apostle  in  the  words  of  my  text,  and 
through   the  whole   Epistle,   from  which  they  are 
taken. 

But  what  is  perhaps,  not  so  easily  discoverable  in 
it,  but  which  ought  to  be  very  carefully  observed, 
is,  that  as  St  Paul  was  maintaining  his  thesis  against 
opponents  of  different  sorts,  so  he  likewise  supports 
it  on  different  principles.  Three  descriptions  of 
persons  argued  in  favour  of  the  Levitical  observances. 
The  first  did  so  from  a  prejudice  of  birth  and  edu- 
cation. The  second,  from  an  excess  of  complaisance. 
The  third  from  a  criminal  policy. 

1.  A  part  of  the  Jews  who  had  been  converted  to 
Christianity,  could  not  help  preserving  a  respect  for 
the  Leviticai  ceremonies,  and  wished  to  transmit  the 
observanceof  them  into  tlie  Qiristian  church.  These 
were  the  persons  who  acted  from  a  prejudice  of  birth 
and  education. 


The  true  Glory  of  the  Christian.         299 

2.  Some  of  them  more  enlightened,  out  of  com- 
plaisance to  others,  would  have  wished  to  retain  the 
practice  of  those  rites.     In  this  class  we  find  no  less 
a  person  than  St  Peter  himself,  as  we  learn  from  the 
second  chapter  of  this  Epistle,  the  eleventh  and  fol- 
lowing verses  ;  and  what  is  most  to  be  regretted  in 
the  case,  this  apostle  fell  into  such  an  excess  of  com^ 
pliance,  that  he  not  only  authorized  by  his  example, 
that  respect  which  the  Jews  had  for  the  Levitical  in^ 
stitutions;  but,  being  at  Antioch,  when  certain  Jews 
were  sent  thither  by  St  James,  he  pretended  to  break 
off  all  intercourse   with  the    Gentile   converts   to 
Christianity,  because  they  had  not  submitted  to  the 
ordinance  of  circumcision:  in  this  he  acted  from  an 
excessive  and  timid  complaisance.     This  weakness 
of  St  Peter,  to  mention  by  the  way,  has  been  laid 
hold   of  by  one  of  the  most  declared  enemies  of 
Christianity,    I   mean    the   philosopher    Porphyry. 
The  reproaches  which   he  vents  against  the  Chris- 
tians, on  this  ground  appeared  so  galling  to  them, 
that  they  had  recourse  to  a  pious  fraud  to  defend 
themselves.      They  alleged,  nay,  they  perhaps,   se- 
riously believed  that  the  person  thus  branded  with 
timidity,  was  not  Peter  the  apostle,  but  one  Cephas, 
who,  as   they  are  pleased  to  give  out,   was  of  the 
number  of  the  seventy  disciples  of  Jesus  Christ, 
mentioned  in   the  gospel.     A  most  chimerical  sup- 
position !  which  has  been   latterly  adopted  by  a  ce- 
lebrated Jesuit  *,  and  which  has  swelled  the  cata- 
logue of  his  extravagances, 

3.  But  if  some,  from  prejudice,  wished  to  trans- 
mit the  Levitical  ceremonies  into  (jhristianity,  and 
others  from  an  excess  of  complaisance ;  there  was 
still  a  third  description  of  persons  who  did  so,  out 
of  a  criminal  policy.  Such  were  the  pagan  converts. 
Respecting  wiiich  it  is  necessary  to  remark,  that  the 
Jewish  religion  was  tolerated   by  the  Roman  Luvs ; 

whereas 

*  Father  Hardouin,  in  his  Dissertation  on  Galatians  ii.  lo. 


SCO  The  true  Gloiy  of  the  Christian. 

whereas  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ  was  proscribed 
by  them,  and  Christians  were  thereby  exposed  to 
the  most  violent  persecution.  This  it  was  which  in- 
duced the  pagan  converts  to  conform  to  the  Leviti- 
cai ceremonies,  that  they  might  pass  for  Jews,  under 
tills  veil  of  Judaism. 

A  passage  of  St  Jerome  to  this  purpose,  deserves 
to  be  here  inserted.  "  Caius  Cesar,  says  he,  * 
"  Augustus  and  Tiberius  enacted  laws,  by  which 
"  the  Jev^'s  dispersed  over  the  Roman  Empire,  were 
"  authorized  to  practise  the  rites  of  their  religion, 
*'  and  the  ceremonial  institutions  transmitted  to 
"  them  from  their  fathers.  All  those  who  were  cir- 
''.cumciscd,  though  they  had  embraced  Christiani- 
**  ty,  }Nert  considered  all  over  the  pagan  world,  as 
*'  Jews:  but  all  those  who  remained  in  a  state  of  tin- 
*'  circumcision,  while  they  professedly  received  th^^ 
"  gospel,  were  equally  persecuted  by  Jews  and  pa- 
"  gans.  There  were  teachers  among  them,  there- 
"commended  circumcision  to  their  disciples.^* 
"  fore,  who,  in  order  to  screen  themselves  from  these 
"  persecutions,  submitted  to  be  circumcised,  and  re>- 

These  are  the  words  of  St  Jerome,  and  they  thrpw 
much  light  on  what  our  apostle  says  in  the  i^^th 
verse  of  the  chapter,  from  which  1  have  taken  mv 
text.  *'  As  many  as  desire  to  make  a  fair  shew  in 
the  Piesh,  they  constrain  you  to  be  circumcised  ;  on- 
ly lest  they  should  suffer  persecution  for  the  cross 
of  Christ.''  And,  as  a  relaxed  morality  has  always 
the  most  numerous  supporters,  w^e  see  that  in  the 
church  of  Galatia,  the  teachers  who  made  the 
greatest  use  of  this  artifice,  not  only  attracted  the 
greatest  number  of  disciples,  but  likewise  made  that 
superiority  a  source  of  vain-glorious  boasting.  This 
is  the  sense  of  the  words  which  immediately  precede 

our 

*  Hieron.  torn.  9.  in  Gahf.  vi.  12c 


The  true  Glory  of  tJie  Christian.  301 

our  text :  "  For  neither  they  themselv^es  who  are  cir- 
cumcised keep  the  law  :  but  desire  to  have  yon  cir- 
cumcised, that  they  might  glory  in  your  flesh.'' 

These  w-ere  the  three  descriptions  of  opponents 
against  whom  Paul  had  to  maintain  the  inutility  of 
the  observance  of  the  Levitlcal  ceremonial^  and  to  as- 
sert the  exclusive  doctrine  of  the  cross. 

One  of  the  principal  causes  of  the  obscurity  of  St 
PauPs  Epistles  is  this,  that  it  is  not, always  easy  to 
distinguish  the  general  arguments  which  that  apostle 
advances  in  them,  from  certain  reasonings  of  a  diffe- 
rent kind,  which  are  conclusive  only  against  some 
particular  adversaries.  Is  it  not  evident,  for  exam- 
ple, that  all  the  consequences  which  he  deduces  from 
the  history  of  Hagar,  whom  he  makes  the  emblem 
of  the  Ancient  Dispensation  ;  and  from  that  of  Sa- 
rah, whom  he  makes  the  emblem  of  the  Evangelical, 
could  make  an  impression  only  on  the  mind  of  Jews, 
who  were  accustomed  to  allegory,  and  who  parti- 
cularly discovered  it  in  the  different  condition  of 
that  wife,  and  of  that  handmaid  of  Abraham  ;  as  ap- 
pears in  many  passages  of  Philo,  which  it  would  be 
improper,  at  present  to  introduce. 

Now,  my  brethren,  it  is  impossible  to  have  a  clear 
conception  of  the  Epistles  of  onr  apostle,  without 
carefully  distinguishing  those  different  adversaries 
whom  he  had  to  com.bat,  and  the  different  argu- 
ments which  heempIov^VC  confute  them.  Nay,  this 
distinction  is  the  veryHKey  which  explains  to  us  the 
different  conduct  observed  by  the  apostles  toward 
their  proselytes.  For  they  believed  themselves  ob- 
liged, with  respect  to  those  who  had  come  over  from 
Judaism,  to  tolerate  that  Levitical ceremonial  to  which 
they  were  attached  by  the  prejudices  of  birth  : 
whereas  this  connivance  might  have  proved  dani>er- 
ous  to  others  who  conformed  to  the  practice  of  it 
merely  from  the  dastardly  motive  which  induced 
them  to  disguise  their  reli2;ion5  or  to  screen  them- 


'»---^   ^    o 


selves 


30:2  The  true  Glory  of  the  Christian. 

selves  from  the  persecution  to  wJiich  it  exposed  them 
who  gloried  in  making*  profession  of  it. 

But  whatever  difference  there  may  be  in  the  cha- 
racter of  the  opponents  whom  the  apostle  was  com- 
bating, and  in  the  arguments  which  he  employed  to 
confute  them,  he  presses  on  all  of  them  this  princi- 
ple, on  which  the  whole  fabric  of  Christianity  rests. 
The  sacrifice  which  Jesus  Christ  offered  up,  that  of 
his  own  life,  is  the  only  one  capable  of  satisfying  the 
demands  of  divine  justice,  awakened  to  the  punish- 
ment of  human  guilt ;  and  to  divide  the  glory  of 
the  Redeemer'' s  sacrijice  ^\\\\  the  Levitical  ceremonial^ 
was,  as  he  expresses  it,  to  preach  another  gospel ;  was 
to  fall  jrom  grace  ;  was  to  lose  the  fruit  of  all  the 
sufferings  endured  in  the  cause  of  Christianity  :  was 
a  doctrine  worthy  of  being  rejected  with  execration, 
were  it  to  be  preached  even  by  an  angel  from  heaven. 
Our  apostle  gpes  still  further,  he  solemnly  protests 
that  no  worldly  consideration  should  ever  have  power 
to  make  him  renounce  this  leading  truth  of  the  gos- 
pel, that  the  more  it  exposed  him  to  hatred  and  suf- 
fering, the  more  he  would  rejoice  in  the  knowledge 
of  it.  and  in  making  it  known  to  others  :  in  a  word, 
he  declares  he  will  continue  to  preach  the  gross, 
were  the  consequence  to  be  that  he  himself  should 
be  nailed  to  it  :  "  God  forbid  that  I  should  glory, 
save  in  the  cross  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  by  whom 
the  world  is  crucified  unto  me,  and  I  unto  the 
world.^^  This  is  the  general  scope  of  the  Epistle  to 
the  Galatians,  particularly  of  our  text,  which  is  the 
conclusion  of  it. 

But  it  is  of  importance  to  descend  into  a  more 
particular  detail.  And,  in  order  to  throw  more  light 
Ofi  my  subject,  I  propose,  as  far  as  the  limits  pre- 
scribed me  permit,  to  attempt  the  three  following 
things : 

I,.  I  shall  examine,  wherein   those  sentiments  of 

the 


The  true  Glory  of  the  Christian.  $03 

the  Christian  consist,  which  enable  him  to  say  that 
"  the  world  is  crucified  unto  him,  and  he  unto  the 
world/' 

II.  I  shall  shew  that  in  such  sentiments  as  these 
true  glory  consists. 

III.  I  shall  demonstrate  that  it  is  the  cross  of 
Christ,  and  the  cross  of  Christ  alone,  which  can  in- 
spire us  with  these  sentiments  :  from  which  I  shall 
deduce  this  farther  consequence,  that  in  the  cross  of 
Christ  alone  we  can  find  a  just  ground  of  glorying. 
Vouchsafe  us  a  few  moments  more  of  your  attention, 
to  the  elucidation  of  these  interesting  truths. 

I.  What  is  the  disposition  of  mind  denoted  by 
these  expressions,  "  the  world  is  crucified  unto  me  ; 
i  am  crucified  unto  the  world  ?"  Jn  order  to  have 
just  ideas  of  this  reciprocal  crucifixion,  we  must 
comprehend,  1.  The  nature  of  it.  S.  The  degrees. 
3.  The  bitterness. 

1.  The  nature  of  it.  ''  The  world  is  crucified  un- 
to me  ;  1  am  crucified  unto  the  world  :"  this  is 
a  figurative  mode  of  expression,  importing  a  total 
rupture  with  the  world.  Distinguish  two  different 
senses  in  which  the  term  zoorld  may  be  taken  :  the 
world  of  nature,  and  the  world  of  cupidity.  By  the 
world  of  nature  we  understand  that  vast  assemblage 
of  beings  which  the  almighty  arm  of  Jehovah  has 
formed,  but  these  considered  as  they  are  in  them- 
selves. By  the  world  of  cupidity,  we  understand 
those  self-same  beings,  considered  so  far  as  by  our 
abuse  of  them,  they  seduce  us  from  the  obedience 
which  we  owe  to  the  Creator.  Of  the  natural  world 
it  is  said,  Gen.  i.  31.  "  God  saw  every  thing  that  he 
had  made,  and  behold  it  was  very  good."  And  St 
Paul  says,  1  Tim.  iv.  4.  that  "•  every  creature  of 
Godisgood  .  ;i .  .  if  it  be  received  vvi.th  thanksgivinij;/' 

I  Tlie 


304-  The  true  Glory  of  the  Christian. 

The  Christian  does  not  break  with  the  world  in  this 
first  sense  of  the  word.  On  the  contrary,  he  makes 
it  the  object  of  his  frequent  meditation  ;  he  dis- 
covers in  it  the  perfections  of  the  great  being  who 
created  it  :  "  The  heavens  declare  the  glory  of  God  ; 
and  the  firmament  sheweth  his  handy  work/^  Ps. 
xix.  1.  Nay  more,  he  makes  it  the  object  of  his 
hope:  For  the  promise^  I  quote  the  v/drds  of  St  Paul, 
in  ch.  iv.  13.  of  his  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  *'  for  the 
promise,  that  he  should  be  the  heir  of  the  world  was 
made  to  Abraham  ;  And  all  things  are  yours ; 
whether  Paul,  or  Apollos,  or  Cephas,  or  the  world,"' 
1  Cor.  iii.  2?. 

It  is  of  the  world  of  cupidity,  therefore,  that  our 
apostle  speaks  in  the  words  which  I  am  attempting 
to  explain,  that  world  of  which  it  is  said,  *'  The 
world  passeth  away,  and  the  lust  thereof.  Love  not 
the  world,  neither  the  things  that  are  in  the  world,'* 
1  John  ii.  17,  1«5.  The  friendship  of  the  imrld  is  enm- 
ty  wiih^  or  as  it  might  have  been  rendered,  is  hatred 
to  God,  This  is  the  world  which  is  crucified  to  the 
Christian  ;  the  Christian  is  crucified  to  this  world. 
The  apostle  in  exfiressing  himself  thus  strongly^'  re- 
fines tipon  a  form  of  speech  which  frequently  occurs 
in  scripture,  that  of  dijing  to  an  object.  To  die  to  an 
object,  is  in  the  style  of  the  sacred  authors,  to  have 
no  farther  intercourse  with  that  object.  In  this  sense 
our  apostle  says  in  chap.  ii.  of  this  Epistle,  ver.  19. 
"  I  through  the  law  am  dead  to  the  law  ;'"  in  other 
v;ords,  the  genius  of  severity  which  predominates  in 
the  Mosaic  economy,  lays  me  under  the  necessity  of 
entirely  renouncing  it,  that  I  might  lite  unto  God ; 
the  meaning  of  which  evidently  is  this,  that  I  niay 
have  undivided  recourse  to  a  dispensation  which 
presents  the  Deity  as  more  accessible  to  me.  In  like 
manner,  to  die  to  the  xwrld  of  cupidity^  or  what  amounts 
to  the  same  thing,  to  die  unto  sin^  is  to  renounce 
sin,  hoxo  shall  we  zoho  arc  dead  to  sin  live  any  longer 
therein  P  likezme  reckon  ye  also  yourselves  to  be  dead  in- 

f*f^  deed 


the  true  Glory  of  the  Christian.  S05 

iteed  unto  sin ;  but  alive  unto  God,  through  Jesics  Christ 
our  Lord,  Rom.  vi.  2,  1 1.  I  aril  still  quoting  the 
words  of  St  Paul. 

But  as  if  a  violent  death  were  more  realjy  dying, 
than  death  iri  a  milder  form,  Scripture,  in  order  to 
mark  more  decidedly  the  sincerity  of  the  renuncia- 
tion of  the  world,  which  is  ascribed  to  the  Christian, 
is  not  satisfied  with  representing  him  as  dead,  but 
holds  him  up  as  crucified  to  the  world  of  cupidity  i 
Knowing  this,  that  our  old  man  is  crucified  xmth  him^ 
Rom.  vi.  6.  The  If  who  are  in  Christ  have  crucified  the 
fiesh,  with  its  lusts  ;  and  in  the  text,  the  world  is  cru- 
cified unto  me,  and  I  am  crucified  unto  the  world:  that 
is,  illicit  cupidity  exists  no  longer  with  respect  to 
me,  and  I  subsist  no  longer  with  respect  to  it. 

2.  There  is,  However,  a  certain  degree  of  ambi« 
guity  in  these  ideas  of  deadne^s  to  the  zmrld,  of  crU" 
cifixlon  to  the  world,  of  a  total  rupture  loith  the  workh 
For  this  reason  it  is  that  we  said,  that  in  order  to 
have  just  ideas  of  this  disposition  of  mind,  it  is  not 
sufficient  to  comprehend  the  nature  of  it,  but  that 
we  should  also  understalnd  the  gradatioiis  of  which  it 
admits.  If,  in  order  worthily  to  sustain  the  Christiaxi 
character,  an  absolute  renunciation  of  the  world,  iji 
the  literal  sense  of  the  words,  were  indispensably  ne- 
cessary, where  is  the  person,  alas!  who  durst  pre- 
tend to  assume  that  name  ?  Would  it  be  a  Noah  ? 
Would  it  be  an  Abraham  ?  Would  it  be  a  Moses  ? 
Would  it  be  a  David  ?  Would  it  be  a  Peter?  Would 
it  be  a  Paul  ?  Would  it  be  one  of  you,  Ghristians  of 
our  own  days  ?  Who  seem  to  have  ca^rried  piety  to  it? 
highest  degree  of  fervour,  and  who  shine  as  lights  in 
the  world,  in  the  midst  of  a  crooked  atid  perverse  na- 
tion, Phil.  ii.  15.  ? 

Where,  then,  are  those  saints  to  be  found,  in 
whom  an  ill-smothered  cupidity  emits  no^  sparks  ? 
That  female  is  an  example  of  what  is  oajlWd  virtue, 

VOL.  VI.  X  by 


506  The  true  Glory  of  the  Christian. 

by  way  of  eminence,  in  her  sex ;  and  which,  accord- 
ing to  the  ideas  of  the  age  in  which  we  live,  seems 
to  constitute  the  whole  of  virtue,  as  far  as  she  is  con- 
cerned ;  but,  impregnable  to  all  the  assaults  which 
can  be  made  upon  her  chastity,  she  succumbs  under 
the  slightest  temptation  that  attacks  her  on  the  side 
of  avarice  ;  and  she  loses  all  self-government,  the  mo- 
ment you  recommend  to  her,  to  take  care  that  her  cha- 
rities be  in  something  like  proportion  to  her  opulence. 

That  man  is  a  pattern  of  reflective  retirement,  and 
modest  silence :  but,  unshaken  by  the  rudest  attacks 
made  upon  his  spirit  of  reserve,  he  yields  to  the 
slightest  soHcitations  of  pride,  he  decks  himself  out 
with  the  names  and  titles  of  his  ancestors,  he  admires 
himself  in  the  poorest  effusions  of  his  brain.  How 
easy  would  it  be  to  multiply  examples  of  this  sort  I 

But  if  it  be  impossible  to  say,  taking  the  ex- 
pression in  the  strictness  of  interpretation,  that  the 
Christian  has  broken  off  all  commerce  with  the 
world,  that  he  is  dead  to  the  World,  that  the  zi^orld  is 
crucified  ^nto  him^  and  that  he  is  crucified  unto  the 
world ;  he  possesses  this  disposition  of  mind,  never- 
theless, in  various  respects,  and  to  a  certain  degree. 
He  is  crucified  unto  the  worlds  he  is  so  in  respect  of  in- 
tention, he  has  that  sincere  will  *'  to  pull  down  every 
strong  hold,  every  thing  that  exalteth  itself  against 
the  knowledge  of  God :"  it  is  an  expression  of  St 
PauPs,  2  Cor.  x.  4,  5.  Hence  such  protestations  as 
these,  "  O  Lord !  thou  hast  searched  me,  and  known 
me,"  Ps.  cxxxix.  1 .  "  Lord  I  thou  knowest  that  I  love 
thee,"  John  xxi.  17.  Hence  the  bitterness  of  regret 
on  account  of  remaining  imperfection,  *'  O  wretched 
3iian  that  I  am  I  who  shall  deliver  me  from  the  body 
of  this  death  V  Rom.  vii.  24.  Hence  those  prayers 
for  the  communication  of  fresh  supplies  of  heavenly 
aid;  "  Open  thou  mine  eyes,  that  1  may  behold  won- 
drous things  out  of  thy  law,"  Ps.  cxix.  18.  "  Teach 
me  to  do  thy  will,  for  thou  art  my  God  :  Thy  spirit 

is 


The  true  Glory  of  the  Christian,     '       307 

is  good,  lead  roe  into  the  land  of  uprightness,"  PsaL 
cxliii.  10. 

He  is  crucified  unto  the  world.  He  is  so  in  respect 
of  exertion  and  actual  progress.  Hence  those  un- 
remitting conflicts  with  the  remains  of  indwelHng 
corruption  :  *'  I  keep  under  my  body,  and  bring  it  in- 
to subjection/'  1  Cor.  ix.  27-  Hence  those  advances 
in  the  Christian  course  ;  *'  Not  as  though  I  had  al- 
ready attained,  either  were  already  perfect,  but  I  fol- 
low after. . .  .This  one  thing  I  do,  forgetting  those 
things  which  are  behind,  and  reaching  forth  unto 
those  things  which  aire  before,  I  press  toward  the 
mark,  for  the  prize  of  the  high  caUing  of  God  in 
Christ  Jesus,"  Phil.  iii.  12,  13,  i4. 

He  is  crucified  unto  the  world.  He  is  so  in  respect 
of  hope  and  fervour.  Hence  those  sighings  after 
the  dissolution  of  the  body,  which  forms,  as  it  were, 
a  wall  of  separation  between  God  and  us.  Hence 
those  ardent  breathings  after  a  dispensation,  an 
economy  of  things,  in  which  we  shall  be  able  to 
give  an  unrestrained  effusion  to  the  love  of  order,  and 
be  completely  united  to  Jesus  Christ,  "  For  we  that 
are  in  this  tabernacle  do  groan,  being  burdened ;  not 
for  that  we  would  be  unclothed,  but  clothed  upon, 
that  mortality  might  be  swallowed  up  of  life,...., 
knowing  that  whilst  we  are  at  home  in  the  body,  we 
are  absent  from  the  Lord  : .  .  ,  .  and  wiUing  rather  to 
be  absent  from  the  body,  and  to  be  present  with  the- 
Lord,"  2  Cor.  v.  4,  6,  8. 

3.  But  the  Holy  Spirit,  in  representing  to  us 
our  renunciation  of  the  v/orld,  under  the  idea  of  a 
deaths  of  a  crucifixion^  intended  to  mark  not  only  the 
nature^  and  the  degrees  of  the  disposition  of  mind 
which  these  expressions  denote  ;  but  likewise  to  indi- 
cate the  d'ljjicalt'j^  the  bitterness,  of  making  such  a 
sacrifice. 

In  very  rare  instances  do  men  die  without  suffer- 
ing.   Death,  in  the  gentlest  form,  is  usually  preceded 

2  '  by 


'A 


508  The  true  Glort/  of  the  Christian. 

by  violent  syinptoms,  which  some  have  denominated 
the  harbingers  of  death.  These  harbingers  of  death, 
are^  mortal  swoonings,  feverish  heats,  paroxysms  of 
pain,  tortures  insupportable.  Crucifixion,  especial- 
ly, was  the  most  cruel  punishment  which  human 
justice,  shall  I  call  it  ?  or  human  barbarity  ever  in- 
vented. The  imagination  recoils  from  the  repre- 
sentation of  a  man  nailed  to  a  tree,  suspended  by  the 
iron  which  pierces  his  hands  and  his  feet,  pressed 
downward  with  the  weight  of  his  own  body,  the 
blood  of  which  is  drained  off  drop  by  drop,  till  he 
expires  merely  from  excess  of  anguish. 

Is  this  frightful  image  over-strained,  when  em- 
ployed to  represent  the  pains  which  the  Christian  is 
called  to  endure,  the  conflicts  which  he  has  to  main- 
tain, the  sacrifices  which  he  is  bound  to  make ;  ago- 
nies which  he  is  under  an  indispensable  necessity  to 
undergo,  before  he  possibly  can  attain  that  blessed 
state  which  our  apostle  had,  through  grace,  arrived 
at,  when  he  said,  in  the  words  of  my  text,  the  zcor/d 
is  crucified  unto  me^  and  1  am  crucified  unto  the  world  ^ 

Represent  to  yourselves  a  Christian,  represent  to 
yourselves  a  man  as  yet  a  novice  in  the  school  of 
Jesus  Christ,  called  to  combat,  sometimes  the  pro- 
pensities which  he  brought  with  him  into  the  world  ; 
sometimes  to  eradicate  a  habit  which  has  grown  up 
in  him,  till  it  is  become  a  second  nature  ;  sometimes, 
to  stem  the  torrent  of  custom  and  example :  some- 
times, to  mortify  and  subdue  a  headstrong  passion, 
.vhich  engrosses  him,  transports  him,  drags  him  away 
captive ;  sometimes,  to  bid  an  everlasting  farewell 
to  the  place  of  his  birth,  to  his  kindred,  and,  like 
Abraham,  to  go  out^  not  knozmng  zi'hither  he  n^ent ; 
sometimes,  with  that  same  patriarch,  to  immolate 
an  only  son ;  to  tear  himself,  on  a  dying  bed,  from 
friends,  from  a  spouse,  from  a  child,  whoni  he  loves 
as  his  own  soul;  and  all  this  without  murmuring 
or  complaining ;  and  all  this,  because  it  is  the  will 
of  God  s  and  all   this,  with  that  submission  which 

was 


The  true  Glory  of  the  Christian.  309 

was  expressed  by  Jesus  Christ,  the  author  and  finisher 
of  the  Christian's  faith,  his  Redeemer  and  his  pat* 
tern:  Not  what  I  will,  but  what  thou  wtlt,  Matt* 
xxvi.  39. 

O  cross  of  my  Saviour,  how  heavily  dost  thou 
^ress,  when  laid  upon  a  man  who  has  not  yet  carried 
love  to  thee  to  that  height  which  renders  all  things 
easy  to  him  who  loveth !  O  path  of  virtue,  which 
appeare^t  so  smooth  to  them  who  walk  in  thee,  how- 
rugged  is  the  road  which  leadeth  unto  thee  I  O  yoke 
of  Jesus  Christ,  so  easy  !  burden  so  light  to  him  who 
has  been  accustomed  to  bear  thee ;  how  difficult, 
how  oppressive  to  those  who  are  but  beginning  to 
try  their  strength !  You  see  it,  accordingly,  my 
brethren!  you  see  it  on  the  page  of  inspiration,  to 
renounce  ike  world  of  cupidity,  is  to  present  the  body 
in  sacrifice  :  /  beseech  you^  brethren,  bij  the  mercies  of 
God,  that  ye  present  your  bodies  a  living  sacrifice,  Rom. 
xii.  1.  it  is  to  cut  offo,  r'lghi  hand,  it  is  to  p!uck  out  a 
right  eife^  Matt.  v.  29,  30.  it  is  for  a  man  to  deny  him- 
self,  it  is  to  take  up  the  cross  :  For  if  any  one  will  come 
after  me,  let  him  deny  himself,  and  take  up  hts  cross,  and 
follow  me.  Matt,  xvi.  24  :  it  is,  in  a  word,  to  be  cru- 
cified with  Jesus  Christ ;  for  /  am  crucified  with  ( 'hrist. 
Gal.  ii.  20  :  and,  in  the  words  of  the  text,  i'he  world 
is  crucified  unto  me,  and  I  am  crucified  unto  the  world. 
My  God,  how  much  it  costs  to  be  a  Christian ! 


SERMON 


SERMON    X. 


PART  IL 


The  true  Glory  of  the  Christiaih 


Galatians  vi.  14. 


Mut  God  forbid  that  I  should  glorify  save  in  the  cross 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christy  bif  whom  the  world  is  cru^ 
cified  unto  me^  and  I  unto  the  zoorld. 

HAVING  presented  you  with  a  general  view  of 
the  apostle's  reasoning  in  this  epistle ;  having 
considered  it  as  an  answer  to  thrcr  different  classes 
of  opponents,  whom  St  Paul  had  to  combat ;  narae- 
ly,  those  who  maintained  the  observance  of  the  Le* 
viticai  institutions^  to  the  disparagement  of  the  gos- 
pel, 1.  From  the  prejudice  of  birth  and  education^ 
2.  From  an  excess  of  complaisance  :  3.  From  cri- 
minal policy  :  We  proceeded  to  shew,  that  whatc  er 
difference  of  motive  and  opinion  might  prevail, 
among  these  three  descriptions  of  adversaries  whom 
our  apostle  had  to  encounter,  and  however  different 
the  strain  of  reasoning  which  he  employs,  according 

as 


SIS  The  Glory  of  the  true  Christian, 

as  the  character  of  each  demanded,  he  supports,  in 
opposition  to  them  all,  this  principle,  on  which  the 
whole  of  Christianity  rests,  namely,  th^t  the  sacri- 
fice  which  the  Redeemer  offered  up  of  his  own  life, 
is  alone  capable  of  satisfying  divine  justice,  and  of 
reconciling  guilty  man  to  God. 

We  then  entered  into  a  more  particular  detail  on 
the  subject,  by  proposing, 

J.  To  examine  wherein  that  disposition  of  the 
Christian  consists,  by  which  he  is  enabled,  with  St 
Paul,  to  say,  "  the  world  is  crucified  unto  me,  and  i 
am  crucified  unto  the  world." 

II.  To  shew,  that  in  such  dispositions  as  these, 
true  glory  consists. 

III.  To  demonstrate  that  it  is  the  cross  of  Christ, 
and  the  cross  of  Christ  only,  which  can  inspire  us 
with  these  sentiments ;  as  a  foundation  for  this  far- 
ther  conclusion,  that  in  the  cross  of  Christ  alone  we 
can  find  a  just  ground  of  glorying. 

The  first  of  these  three  proposals  we  have  endea- 
voured to  execute,  by  considering,  1.  The  nature  of 
this  reciprocal  crucifixion :  2.  The  gradations  of 
which  it  admits  :  3.  The  difficulty^  the  bitterness  of 
inaking  a  sacrifice  so  very  painful.  We  now  proceed 
to  what  was  next  proposed,  namely, 

11.  To  shew,  that  in  such  dispositions  as  are  ex- 
pressed by  our  apostle,  true  glory  consists. 

In  order  to  elucidate  and  confirm  this  position,  I 
mean  to  institute  a  comparison  between  the  hero  of 
this  world,  and  the  Christian  hero,  in  the  view  of 
inaking  it  evidently  apparent,  that  this  last  has  in- 
finitely the  superiority  over  the  other.  From  what 
sources  does  the  hero  of  this'  world  pretend  to  derive 
his  glory  ? 

The 


The  true  Glory  of  a  Christian,  SI 3 

The  hero  of  this  world  sometimes  derives  his  glory, 
from  the  greatness  of  the  master  to  whom  his  ser- 
vices are  devoted.  He  congratulates  himself  on 
contributing  to  the  glory  of  those  men  who  are  so 
highly  exalted  above  the  rest  of  mankind,  on  being 
the  support  of  their  throne,  and  the  guardian  of  their 
crown.  The  Master,  to  whose  service  the  Chris- 
tian has  devoted  himself,  is  the  King  of  kings :  he 
it  is,  in  whose  presence  all  the  potentates  of  the  earth, 
"  are  as  a  drop  of  a  bucket,  and  are  counted  as  the 
small  dust  of  the  balance,"  Isa.  xl.  \5,  He  it  is,  by 
whose  supreme  authority  *'  kings  reign,  and  princes  de- 
cree justice,"  Prov.  viii.  15.  It  is  true  that  the  great- 
ness of  this  adorable  being  raises  him  far  above  all 
our  services.  It  is  true  that  his  throne  is  established 
for  ever,  and  that  the  united  force  of  all  created 
things  would  in  vain  attempt  to  shake  it.  But  if 
the  Christian  can  contribute  nothing  to  the  glory  of 
so  great  a  master,  he  publishes  it  abroad,  he  con- 
founds those  who  presume  to  invade  it,  he  makes  it 
to  be  known  over  the  whole  earth. 

The  hero  of  this  world  sometimes  derives  his 
glory  from  the  hatred  with  which  he  is  animated, 
against  thfe  enemy  with  whom  he  is  making  war. 
What  enemy  more  hateful  can  a  man  engage,  than 
the  world  ?  It  is  the  world  which  degrades  us  from 
our  natural  greatness ;  which  effaces  from  the  soul  of 
man,  those  traits  which  the  finger  of  Deity  himself 
has  impressed  upon  it ;  which  destroys  our  preten- 
sions to  a  blessed  immortahty. 

The  hero  of  this  world  sometimes  derives  his  glo- 
ry from  the  dignity  of  the  persons  who  have  preced- 
ed him  in  the  same  honourable  career.  It  is  con- 
sidered in  the  world,  as  glorious,  to  succeed  those 
illustrious  men  who  have  filled  the  universe  with  the 
sound  of  their  name,  who  have  made  terror  to  stalk 
]before  them,  and  who  signalized  themselves  by  ex- 
ploits 


314  The  true  Glory  of  the  C/iristiati, 

ploits  more  than  human.  The  Christian  has  bee« 
preceded  in  his  career  by  patriarchs,  by  prophets, 
hy  apostles,  by  martyrs,  by  those  multitudes  of  the 
redeemed,  out  of  every  kindred,  and  tongue,  and 
people,  and  nation,  Rev.  v.  9.  Those  holy  men  have 
been  called  to  wage  war  with  sin,  as  we  are  to  sub- 
due our  passions ;  to  form  in  their  inner  man,  as  we 
are,  piety,  charity,  patience,  the  habit  and  the  prac- 
tice of  every  virtue.  The  Christian  has  been  pre- 
ceded in  his  career,  by  Jesus  Christ  himself,  the 
author  and  the  finisher  of  the  faith.  *'  Wherefore, 
seeing  we  also  are  compassed  about  with  so  great  a 
cloud  of  witnesses,  let  us  lay  aside  every  weight,  and 
the  sin  which  doth  so  easily  beset  us,  and  let  us  run 
"with  patience  the  race  which  is  set  before  us,  looking 
unto  Jesus  the  author  and  finisher  of  our  faith  ;  who, 
for  the  joy  that  was  set  before  him,  endured  the  cross, 
despising  the  shame,"  Heb.  xii.  1,  ^. 

The  hero  of  this  world  sometimes  derives  his  glory 
from  the  brilliancy  of  his  atchievements.  Bui  who  has 
greater  exploits  to  glory  in  than  the  Chr^tian  can  dis- 
play? To  shake  off  the  yoke  of  prejudice,  to  de- 
spise the  maxims  of  men,  to  resist  flesh  and  blood,  to 
subdue  passion,  to  brave  death,  to  suffer  martyrdom, 
to  remain  unmoved  amidst  the  convulsions  of  dissolv- 
ing nature,  and,  in  the  very  v/reck  of  a  labouring 
universe,  to  be  able  to  apply  those  exceeding  great 
and  precious  promises,  which  God  has  spoken  by  the 
mouth  of  the  prophet,  h.  liv.  10.  "  The  mountains 
shall  depart,  and  the  hills  be  removed  ;  but  my  kind- 
ness shall  not  depart  from  thee,  neither  shall  the  co- 
venant of  my  peace  be  removed,  saith  the  Lord  that 
hath  mercy  on  thee."  These,  these  are  the  atchieve- 
ments of  the  Christian. 

The  hero  of  this  world  sometimes  derives  his  glory 
from  the  benefit  which  he  has  procured  for  others, 
from  the  blessings  with  which  he  has  enriched  his 

country, 


The  true  Glory  of  the  Chrisiian,  S\3 

country,  from  the  slaves  whose  chains  he  has  burst 
asunder,  from  the  monsters  of  which  he  has  purged 
the  earth.  Who  is,  in  such  respects  as  these,  a  great- 
er benefactor  to  society  than  the  Christian  ?  He  is  at 
once,  its  bulwark,  its  light,  and  its  model. 

The  hero  of  this  world  sometimes  derives  his  glory, 
from  the  acclamations  which  his  exploits  excite,  and 
from  the  magnificence  of  the  recom  pence  with  which 
his  merits  are  to  be  crowned.  But  whence  pro- 
ceed the  acclamations  which  inflate  his  pride  ?  Does 
it  belong  to  venal  souls,  to  courtiers,  to  hireling 
panegyrists ;  does  it  belong  to  persons  of  this  de- 
scription to  distribute  commendation  and  applause  ? 
Have  they  any  thing  like  the  idea  of  true  glory  ?  Ex- 
tend, Christian,  extend  thy  meditations  up  to  the 
greatness  of  the  Supreme  Being  I  Think  of  that  ado- 
rable intelligence,  who  unites  in  his  essence  all  that 
deserves  the  name  of  great  I  Contemplate  the  Divi- 
nity surrounded  with  angels,  with  archangels,  with 
the  seraphim  !  Listen  to  the  concerts  which  those 
blessed  spirits  compose  to  the  glory  of  his  name  ! 
Behold  them  penetrated,  ravished,  transported  with 
the  divine  beauties  which  are  disclosed  to  their  view  ; 
employing  eternity  in  celebrating  their  excellency, 
and  crying  aloud  day  and  night :  "  Holy,  holy,  holy 
is  the  Lord  of  hosts !  The  whole  earth  is  full  of  his  glo- 
ry," Is.  vi.^.  "Amen:  Blessing,and  glory,  and  wisdom, 
and  thanksgiving,  and  honour,  and  power,  and  might, 
be  unto  our  God,  for  ever  and  ever  I  Amen,"  Rev.  vii. 
12.  "Great  and  marvellous  are  thy  works.  Lord  God  Al- 
mighty !  just  and  true  are  thy  ways  thou  king  of  saints! 
Who  shall  not  fear  thee,  O  Lord,  and  glorify  thy 
name  ?  for  thou  only  art  holy,"  Rev.  xv.  3,  4. 

This  Being,  so  worthy  to  be  praised,  and  praised 
in  a  manner  so  worthy  of  him,  he  it  is  who  has  been 
preparing  acclamations  for  the  conquerors  of  the 
world.  Yes,  Christian  combatant !  after  thou  hast 
been  treated  "  as  the  filth  of  the  world,  and  the  off- 
scouring 


SI 6  The  time  Glory  of  the  Christian* 

scouring  of  all  things,"  1  Cor.  iv.  13.  after  thou  shalt 
have  mortified,  subjected,  crucified  this  flesh ;  after 
thou  shalt  have  borne  this  cross,  which  v^^as  once  to 
ilmJews,  a  stumbling  block ;  and  to  the  Greeks  foolish* 
ness ;  and  which  is  still  to  this  day,  foolishness  and  a 
stumbling-block  to  those  who  ought  to  consider  it  as 
their  highest  glory  to  bear  it ;  thou  shalt  be  called 
forth  in  the  presence  of  men  and  of  angels  ;  the  eye  of 
the  great  God  shall  distinguish  thee  amidst  the  innu- 
merable company  of  the  saints ;  he  shall  address  thee 
in  these  words  :  Well  done,  good  and  faithful  servant^ 
Mat.  XXV.  21 .  He  will  fulfil  the  promise  which  he  this 
day  is  making  to  all  who  combat  under-  t]^  banner 
of  the  cross :  to  him  that  overcometh^  will  I  grant  to  sit 
with  7ne  in  my  throne^  Rev.  iii.  21.  ^ 

Ah  1   glory  of  the   hero  of  this  world,   profane 
panegyrics,  inscriptions  conceived  in  high  swelHng 
words  of  vanity,  superb  trophies,  diadems,  fitter  to 
«erv€  as  an  amusement  to  children,  than  to  engage  the 
attention  of  reasonable  men  I  what  have  ye  once  to 
be  compared  with  the  acclamations,   and  with  the 
crowns  prepared  for  the  Christian  hero?    I  sacrifice, 
my  brethren,  to  the  standard  prescribed  to  the  dura- 
tion  of    these    exercises,  the    delicious   meditations 
which  this  branch  of  my  subject  so  copiously  sup- 
phes,  and  all  I  farther  request  of  you  is  a  moment's 
attention,  while  I  endeavour  to  make  you  sensible, 
that  it  is  in  the  cross  ot  Jesus  Christ  alone,  we  find 
every  thing  necessary  to  inspire  these  noble  dispositions; 
in  order  to  deduce  this  consequence,  that  in  the  cross 
of  Jesus  Christ  alone,  the  Christian  must  look  for  true 
glory  ;  and  in  order  to  justify  this  sentiment  of  our 
apostle  :  God  forbid  that  I  should  g  lor  ij^  save  in  the  cross 
r>J  our  Lord  Jesus  (Christ,  by  whom  the  world  is  cruel- 
Jiedunio  me^  and  I  unto  the  world!  Under  what  aspect 
can  you  contemplate  the  cross  of  Christ,  that  does  not 
dispose  you  to  break  off  entirely  with  the  world  1 
III.  If  we  consider  that  cross  in  respect  of  its  har- 

mony 


Th^  true  Glory  of  the  CJiristhm.  317 

mony  with  the  whole  contradiction  which  Jesus 
Christ  endured  upon  earth,  it  has  a  pc)werfal  ten- 
dency to  awaken  in  us  the  dispositio.ns  which  St 
Paul  expresses,  so  as  to  say  with  him,  the  zvorid  k 
crucified  unto  me,  and  I  am  crucified  uni'o  the  worUL 
Our  great  Master  finishes  upon  a  cross,  a  life  passed 
in  contempt,  in  indigence,  in  mortification  of  the 
senses,  in  hunger,  in  thirst,  in  weariness,  in  separa- 
tion from  the  w^orld  ;  would  it  be  becoming  in  li 
Christian  to  lall  himself  to  sleep  in  the  arms  of  in- 
dolence, to  addict  himself  to  the  pleasuE\es  of  sense, 
to  suffer  himself  to  be  inchanted  by  the  charms  of 
voluptuousness,  to  breathe  after  nothinjij  but  ease, 
but  convenience,  but  repose,  but  abundance  r  If  the 
Xi'orld  hate  you,  ye  know  that  it  hated  me  be  fore  it  hated 
you.  Remember  the  zmrd  that  I  said  unto  n/ou,  the  ser- 
vant is  not  greater  than  his  lord,  John  xv.    18,  20. 

If  we  consider  the  cross  of  Christ,  in  relation  to  the 
sacrifice  which  is  there  offered  up  to  dii  ine  justice^ 
it  has  a  powerful  tendency  to  produce  in  us  the  dis- 
positions expressed  by  St  Paul,  so  as  to  be  able  to  s  .y 
with  him,  *'  The  world  is  crucified  unto  m  e,  and  I  am 
crucified  unto  the  world,"  That  worldly  lii  fe,  those  dis- 
sipations, those  accumulated  rebellions  against  the  com- 
mands of  heaven;  that  cupidity  which  t  ngrosses  us, 
and  constitutes  ail  our  dehght,  in  what  i  s  all  this  to 
terminate?  Observe  the  tempests  which  i  t  gathers  a- 
round  the  head  of  those  who  give  themsel «  es  up  to  cri- 
muial  indulgence.  Jesus  Christ  was  perfc  ctly  exempt 
from  sin,  but  he  took  ours  upon  hims-elf,  he  bars 
them  in  his  own  body  on  the  tree,  1  Pet.  ii.  24.  and  it 
was  for  this  end  that  he  underv/ent,  on  tbat  accursed 
tree,  all  those  torments  which  his  divinity  and  his 
innocence  enabled  him  to  support,  witli  out  sinking 
under  the  load.  Behold  in  this,  O  sinner,  the  fear- 
ful doom  w^hich  awaits  thee.  Yes,  unless  thou  art 
crucified  with  Christ  by  faith,  thou  shalt  be  by  tlie  juis- 
tice  of  God.     And  then  all   the  fury  of  that  justice 


318  7'he  true  Glory  of  the  Christian, 

shall  be  levelled  at  thy  head»  as  it  was  at  his.  Then 
thou  shalt  be^  exposed  on  a  dying  bed  to  the  dread- 
ful conflicts  which  he  endured  in  Gethsemane. 
Thou  shalt  shudder  at  the  idea  of  that  punishment 
which  an  avenging  Deity  is  preparing  for  thee. 
Thou  shalt  sweat  as  it  were  great  drops  of  blood, 
when  the  eye  is  directed  to  the  tribunal  of  justice 
whither  thou  art  going  to  be  dragged.  Nay  more, 
thou  shalt  then  be  condemned  to  compensate,  by  the 
duration  of  thy  punishment,  what  the  weakness  of 
thy  nature  Tenders  thee  incapable  of  supporting  in 
respect  of  weight.  Ages  accumulated  upon  ages 
shall  set  no  bounds  to  thy  torments.  Thou  shalt  be 
accursed  of  God  through  eternity,  as  Jesus  Christ 
was  in  time  :  and  that  cross  which  thou  refusedst  to 
bear  for  a  time,  thou  must  bear  for  ever  and  ever. 

If  we  con  sider  the  cross  of  Jesus  Christy  with  rela- 
tion to  the  atrocious  guilt  of  those  who  despise  a  sa- 
crifice of  such  high  value,  we  shall  feel  a  powerful 
tendency  to  adopt  the  dispositions  of  St  Paul,  and 
to  say  with  him,  "  the  world  is  crucified  unto  me,  and 
I  am  crucified  unto  the  world."  The  image  which  I 
would  here  trace  for  your  inspection,  is  still  that  of 
St  Paul.  T'his  apostle  depicts  to  us  the  love  of  the 
world,  as  a  contempt  of  the  cross  of  Christ,  and  as  a 
renewal  of  l,he  punishment  which  he  suffered.  The 
idea  of  v;hal.  such  a  crime  deserves,  absorbs  and  can- 
founds  his  spirit ;  he  cannot  find  colours  strong 
enough  to  paint  it ;  and  he  satisfies  himself  with 
asking,  afer  he  had  mentioned  the  punishment 
inflicted  on  those  who  had  violated  the  law  of 
Moses :  "  0»f  how  much  sorer  punishment,  suppose 
ye,  shall  he  be  thought  worthy,  who  hath  trodden 
under  foot  the  Son  of  God,  and  hath  counted  the  blood 
of  the  covenant,  wherewith  he  was  sanctified,  an  un- 
holy thing,  and  hath  done  despite  unto  the  spirit  of 
grace  r"  Hcb.  x,  5!).  ' 

Here, 


The  true  Glory  of  the  Christum.  313 

Here,  sinner,  here  read  thy  sentence  I  The  voice 
of  the  blood  of  the  Son  of  God  will  cry  from  earth 
to  heaven  for  vengeance  against  thee.  God  will 
one  day  call  thee  to  give  an  account  of  the  blood 
of  a  Son  so  dear  to  him.  He  will  say  to  thee  as  St 
Peter  did  to  those  who  shed  it ;  "  Thou  hasi  denied 
the  Holy  One  and  the  just  ....  and  killed  the  Prince 
of  Life"  Acts  iii.  14,  15.  He  will  pursue  thee  with 
all  his  plagues,  as  if  thou  hadst  imbrued  thy  hands  in 
that  blood,  and  as  he  has  pursued  those  who  were 
actually  guilty  of  that  crime. 

But  let  us  press  motives  more  gentle,  and  more 
congenial  to  the  dignity  of  ihe  redeemed  of  the 
Lord.  If  we  consider  the  cross  of  Christ,  in  relation 
to  the  proofs  which  he  there  displays  to  us  of  his 
love,  is  it  possible  wc  should  find  any  thing  too  pain- 
ful in  the  sacrifices  which  he  demands  of  us  ?  Is 
it  possible  for  us  to  do  too  much  for  that  Jesus  wha 
has  done  so  much  for  us  ?  When  the  heart  feels  a 
disposition  to  revolt  against  the  morality  of  the  gos- 
pel ;  when  you  are  tempted  to  say,  "  This  is  a  hard 
saying,  who  can  hear  it  ?"  John  vi.  60  :  When  the 
gate  of  heaven  seems  too  straiit  for  you  ;  when  the  flesh 
would  exaggerate  the  difficulties  of  working  out  your 
salvation  ;  when  it  seems  as  if  we  were  tearing  the 
heart  from  your  bosom,  in  charging  you  to  curb  the 
impetuosity  of  your  temperament,  to  resist  the  tor-' 
rent  of  irregular  desire,  to  give  a  portion  of  your 
goods  to  the  poor,  to.  sacrifice  a  Daiiiah  cr  a  Drusil- 
la :  follow  your  Saviour  to  Calvary :  behold  him 
passing  the  brook  Kidrcn,  ascending  the  fatal  Mount 
on  which  his  sacrifice  was  to  be  accomplisiied  ;  be- 
hold that  concourse  of  woes  which  constrain  him  to 
cry  out,  Mij  God^  mij  God,  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me  P 
Matt,  xxvii.  46.  If  ye  can,  hold  out  against  objects 
like  these  ! 

If  we  consider  the  cross  of  Jesus  Christ,  relatively 
to   the  proofs  which  it   supplies   in  support  of  the 

3  doctrine 


320  The  true  Glorjj  of  the  Chrisdanp 

doctrine  of  him  who  there  finished  his  life,  it  will  be 
a  powerful  inducement  to  adopt  the  sentiments  of 
St  Paul.  It  is  natural,  I  allov/,  for  reasonable  beings, 
of  whom  sacrifices  are  exacted,  so  costly  as  those 
which  Christianity  prescribes,  to  expect  full  assu-» 
ranee  of  the  truth  of  that  religion.  It  is  impossible 
to  employ  too  much  precaution,  when  the  point  in 
question  is  whether  or  not  we  are  to  surrender  vic- 
tims so  beloved.  The  slightest  doubt  on  this  head 
is  of  essential  importance.  But  is  this  article  suscep- 
tible of  the  slightest  doubt?  Jesus  Christ  sealed 
with  his  blood  the  doctrine  which  he  taught;  he 
was  not  only  the  hero  of  the  religion  which  we 
preach,  but  likewise  the  martyr  of  it. 

If  we  consider  the  cross  of  Christ,  relatively  to  the 
aid  necessary  to  form  us  to  the  sentiments  expressed 
by  St  Paul,  it  still  powerfully  presses  us  to  adopt 
them.  It  assures,  on  the  part  of  God,  of  every  sup- 
port we  can  need,  in  maintaining  the  conflicts 
to  which  we  are  called.  It  lays  the  founda- 
tion  of  this  reasoning,  the  justest,  the  most  conclu- 
sive which  intelligence  ever  formed :  "  If  God  be  for 
us,  who  can  be  against  us  ?  He  that  spared  not  his  own 
Son,  but  delivered  him  up  for  us  all,  how  shall  he  not 
withhim  also  freely  give  us  all  things?"  Rom.  viii.  3 1,32. 

And,  to  conclude  this  discourse  by  representing  the 
same  images  which  we  traced  in  the  beginning  of  it^ 
if  we  consider  the  cross  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christy  rela- 
tively to  the  glory  which  followed,  it  still  presses  us  to 
adopt  the  sentiments  of  St  Paul  in  the  text.  The  idea 
of  that  glory  carried  Jesus  Christ  through  all  that 
was  most  painful  in  his  sacrifice.  On  the  eve  of  con- 
summating it,  he  thus  addresses  his  heavenly  Father : 
"  The  hour  is  come  that  the  Son  of  man  should  be  glori- 
fied.   Father,  glorify  thy  name Father,  the  hour  is 

come  ;  glorify  thy  Son,  that  thy  Son  also  may  glorify 
thee  ....  I  have  glorified  thee  on  the  earth ;  I  have 
finished  the  work  which  thou  gavest  me  to  do :  and  now, 
O  Father.glorify  thou  me  with  thine  own  self,  with  the 

3  glwry 


The  true  Glory  of  the  Christian.  321 

glory  which  I  had  with  thee  before  the  world  was,'* 
John  xii.  23,  28.  xvii.  1,  4,  5.  This  expectation  was 
not  disappointed  The  conflict  was  hmg,  it  was  se- 
vere, but  it  came  to  a  period  ;  but  heavenly  mes- 
sengers descended  to  receive  him  as  he  issued  from 
the  tomb  ;  but  a  cloud  came  to  raise  him  from  the 
earth  ;  but  the  gates  of  heaven  opened,  with  the  ac- 
clamations of  the  church  triumphant,  celebrating  his 
victories,  and  hailing  his  exaltation  in  these  strains: 
*'  Lift  up  your  heads,  O  ye  gates,  and  be  ye  lifted  up, 
ye  everlasting  doors,  and  the  King  of  Glory  shall 
come  in,"  Ps.  xxiv.  7. 

Christians  !  let  our  eyes  settle  on  this  object.    To 
suffer  with  Jesus  Christ,  is  to  have  full  assurance  of 
reigning  wath  him.     We  do  not  mean   to  conceal 
from  you  the  pains  which  await  you  in  the  career 
prescribed  to  the  followers  of  the  Redeemer.     It  i 
a  hard  thing  to  renounce  all  that  flatters,  all  that 
pleases,  all  that  charms.     It  is  hard  to  be  tpld  in- 
cessantly of  difficulties  to  be  surmounted,  of  ene- 
mies to  be  encountered,  of  a  cross  to  be  borne,  of 
crucifixion  to  be  endured.     It  is  hard  for  a  man  to 
mortify  himself,  while  all  around  him  are  rejoicing  ; 
while  they  are  refining  on  pleasure ;  while  they  are 
employing  their  utmost  ingenuity  to  procure  nevv'^ 
amusements  ;  while  they  are  distilling  their  brain  to 
diversify  their  delights  ;  while  they  are  spending  life 
in    sports,   in   feasting,   in   gaity,   in   spectacle  on 
spectacle.     The  conflict  is  long,  it  is  violent,  I  ac- 
knowledge it ;  but  it  draws  to   a  period  ;  but  your 
cross  shall  be  followed  by  the  same  triumph  which 
that  of  your  Saviour  was  :  Father^  the  hour  is  come, 
glorify  thy  Son :  but,  you,  in  expiring  on  yoiu'  cross  ; 
you  shall  with  holy  joy  and  confidence  commend 
your   soul   to    God,   as    he   commended   his,   and, 
closing  your   eyes  in   death,   say.  Father !  into  tJnj 
haiids  1  commend  my  spirit^  Luke  xxiii.  46.   but  the 
angels  shall  descend  to  receive  that  departing  spirit, 

VOL.  VI.  Y  "      to 


S22  The  true  Gloiij  of  the  Christian, 

to  convey  it  to  the  bosom  of  your  God  ;  and  after 
having  rejoiced  in  your  conversion,  they  shall  re- 
joice together  in  your  beatitude,  as  they  rejoiced  in 
his  ;  but  in  the  great  day  of  the  restitution  of  all 
things,  you  shall  ascend  on  the  clouds  of  heaven,  as 
Jesus  Christ  did  j  you  shall  be  exalted,  like  him,  far 
above  all  heavens ;  and  you  shall  assume,  together 
with  him,  a  seat  on  the  throne  of  the  maiesty  of 
God. 

Thus  it  is  that  the  cross  of  Christ  fbrm.s  us  to  the 
sentiments  of  our  apostle;  thus  it  is  that  we  are 
enabled  to  say,  "  The  world  is  crucified  unto  us, 
and  we  are  crucified  unto  the  world  :  thus  it  is  that 
the  cross  conducts  us  to  the  true  glory.  O  glorious 
cross  !  thou  shalt  ever  be  the  object  of  my  study, 
and  of  my  meditation  !  1  will  propose  to  myself  to 
know  nothing,  save  Jesus  Christ  and  him  crucified ! 
"  God  forbid  that  I  should  glory,  save  in  the  cross 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  by  whom  the  world  is  cru- 
cified unto  me,  and  I  unto  the  world !"  May  God 
grant  us  this  grace  !  Amen. 


::SEIIM0N      i 


SERMON  XI. 

On  the  Fear  of  Death, 


Heb.  ii.  14,  15. 


Forasmuch  then  as  the  children  are  partakers  qfjlesh 
and  blood,  he  also  himself  likewise  took  part  of  the 
same  ;  that  through  death  he  might  destroy  him  that 
had  the  power  of  death,  that  is,  the  devil ;  and  de- 
liver  them  who  through  fear  of  death  were  all  their 
Ifetime  subject  to  bondage, 

TO  know  what  death  is,  without  being  terrified 
at  it,  is  the  highest  degree  of  perfection  at- 
tainable by  the  human  mind  ;  it  is  the  highest  point 
of  felicity  which  a  man  can  reach,  while  in  this  val- 
ley of  tears.  I  say,  to  know  death  without  fearing 
it ;  and  it  is  in  the  union  of  these  two  things  we 
are  to  look  for  that  effort  of  genius  so  worthy  of 
emulation,  and  that  perfection  of  felicity  so  much 
calculated  to  kindle  ardent  desire.     For  to  brave 

2  death 


224  On  the  Fear  of  Death, 

death  without  knowing  what  it  is  ;  to  shut  our  eyes 
against  all  that  is  hideous  in  its  aspect,  in  order  to 
combat  it  with  success,  this  is  so  far  from  indicating 
a  superior  excellency  of  disposition,  that  it  must  be 
considered  rather  as  a  mental  derangement :  so  far 
from  being  the  height  of  felicity,  it  is  the  extreme 
of  misery. 

We  have  seen  philosophers  shaking  off  (if  after  all 
they  did  so  in  reality,  and  if  that  intrepid  outside 
did  iiot  conceal  a  trembling  heart),  we  have  seen 
philosophers  shaking  off  the  fear  of  death  ;  but  they 
did  not  knov/  it.  They  viewed  it  under  only  borrow- 
ed aspects.  They  figured  it  to  themselves,  as 
either  reducing  the  nature  of  man  to  a  stale  of  an- 
nihilation, or  as  summoning  him  before  chimerical 
tribunals,  or  as  followed  l3y  a  certain  imaginary 
felicity. 

We  have  seen  heroes,  as  the  world  calls  them, 
pretending  to  brave  the  terrors  of  death  ;  but  they 
did  not  know  it :  they  represented  it  to  themselves 
as  crowned  with  laurels,  as  decorated  with  trophies, 
as  figuring  on  the  page  of  the  historian. 

We  have  seen,  and  still  see  every  day,  libertines 
pretending  to  brave  the  terrors  of  death,  but  they 
know  it  not.  Their  indolence  is  the  cause  of  that 
assumed  firmness  ;  and  they  are  incapable  of  enjoy- 
ing tranquillity,  but  by  banishing  the  ide;a  of  a  pe- 
riod, the  horror  of  y/hich  they  are  unable  to  over- 
come. But  not  to  disguise  this  formidable  object ; 
to  view  it  in  its  true  light ;  to  fi:s.  the  eye  steadily 
on  every  feature  ;  to  have  a  perception  of  all  its  ter- 
rors ;  in  a  word,  to  know  what  death  is,  without 
being  terrified  at  it,  to  repeat  it  once  more,  is  the 
highest  degree  of  perfection  attainable  by  the  hu- 
jTian  mind  ;  it  is  the  highest  point  of  felicity  which 
a  man  can  reach  while  in  this  valley  of  tears. 

Sovereign  wisdom,  my  brethren,  forms  his  chil- 
dren to  true  heroism.     That  wisdom  effects  what 

neither 


On  the  rear  ofDeatlu  225 

Tieitlier  philosophers  by  their  false  maxims,  iior  the 
heroes  of  the  world  by  their  affected  intrepidity,  nor 
the  libertine  by  his  insensibility  and  indolence;  that 
wisdom  effects  what  all  the  powers  m  the  universe 
could  not  have  produced,  and  alone  bestows  on  the 
Christian  the  privilege  of  knowing  death  without 
fearing  it.  All  this  is  contained  in  the  words  which 
1  have  read  as  the  subject  of  the  present  discourse  : 
through  fear  of  deaths  men  "dcere  oil  their  lifetime  sub- 
ject  to  bondage :  there  is  the  power  of  death  ;  there 
his  empire  ;  there  his  triumph.  Jesus  Christ, 
*'  through  his  death,  has  destroyed  him  that  had  the 
power  of  death,  that  is  the  devil,  and  delivers  them 
"who  through  fear  of  death  were  all  their  lifetime 
subject  to  bondage  :"  Behold  death  vanquished  I 
there  are  his  spoils  ;  there  is  the  triumph  over  him  : 
salutary  ideas!  which  will  present  themselves  in  suc- 
cession to  our  thoughts  in  the  sequel  of  this  cxer- 
cise.  "  Forasmuch  then  as  the  cliildren  are  par- 
takers of  flesh  and  blood,  he  also  himself  likevv^ise 
took  part  of  the  same  ;  that  through  death  he  m.ight 
destroy  him  that  had  the  power  of  death,  that  is  the 
devil :  and  deliver  them  who  through  fear  of  death 
were  all  their  lifetime  subject  to  bondage/' 

With  respect  to  the  fu'st  words,  ''  forasmuch  as 
the  children  are  partakers  of  flesh  and  blood,  he  also 
himself  likewise  took  part  of  the  same,"*  I  shall  only 
remark,,  that  by  ihe  children  referred  to,  we  are  to 
understand  men  in  general,  and  believers  in  parti- 
cular :  and  by  that  flesh  and  blood  we  are  not  to 
understand  cornqition^  as  in  some  other  passages  of 
Scripture,  but  huma^i  nature  ;  so  that  when  it  is  said, 
"  as  the  children  are  partakers  of  flesh  and  blood, 
Jesus  Christ  likewise  took  part  of  the  same,"  the 
iueaning  is,  he  assumed  a  body  such  as  ours  is. 

Having  made  these  few  short  remarks  on  the 
first  words,  we  shall  confine  ourselves  to  the  two 
ideas  which  have  been  indicated,  and  shall  employ 
what  remains  of  our  time,  in  proving  this  funda- 
mental 


526  On  the  Fear  of  Death. 

mental  truth,  that  Jesus  Christ,  ''  by  his  death,  has 
destroyed  him  that  had  the  power  of  death,  that  is, 
the  devil,  in  order  that  he  might  deliver  them  who 
through  fear  of  death,  were  all  their  lifetime  subject 
to  bondage.'^ 

The  terrors  of  death  are  expressed  in  terms  pow- 
erfully energetical,  in  this  texU  It  represents  to 
us  a  mighty  tyrant  causing  death  to  march  at  his 
command,  and  subjecting  the  whole  universe  to  his 
dominion.  This  tyrant  is  the  devil.  He  is  the 
personage  here  described,  and  who,  "through  the 
fear  of  death,  subjects  men  to  bondage." 

You  stand  aghast,  no  doubt,  on  beholding  the 
whole  human  race  reduced  to  subjection  under  a 
master  so  detestable.  The  fact,  however,  cannot 
be  called  in  question  ;  this  great  enemy  of  our  sal- 
vation unquestionably  exercises  a  sort  of  empire  over 
the  universe.  Though  the  scriptures  speak  spar- 
ingly of  the  nature  and  functions  of  this  malignant 
spirit,  they  say  enough  of  them  to  convey  to  us  a 
striking  idea  of  his  power,  and  to  render  it  formida- 
ble  to  us.  The  Scripture  tells  us,  I.  That  he  tempts 
men  to  sin;  witness  the  wiles  which  he  practised 
on  our  first  parents  :  witness  that  which  St  Paul 
says  of  him  in  chap.  ii.  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Ephe- 
sians,  "  the  spirit  that  worketh  in  the  children  of 
disobedience  :"  witness  the  name  of  Tempter  given 
to  him  in  the  gospel  history.  Matt.  iv.  3.  The 
Scripture  informs  us,  II.  That  he  accuses  men  before 
God  of  those  very  crimes  which  he  solicited  them 
to  commit :  witness  the  prophet  Zechariah,  who 
w^as  "  shewed  Joshua  the  high-priest,  standing  be- 
fore the  angel  of  the  Lord,  and  Satan  standing  at 
his  right  hand  to  resist  him ;"  or,  as  it  might  have 
been  rendered,  to  be  his  adversary  or  accuser  :  wit- 
ness the  descriptive  appellation  ok  calumniator  or  ac^ 
cuser  given  him  by  St  John  in  the  Apocalypse.  The 
scripture  tells  us,  III.  That  he  sometimes  torments 
men;  witness  the  liistory  of  Job;  witness  what  St 

Paul 


0)1  the  Fear  of  Death.  327 

Paul  says  of  his  delivering  up  unto  Satan  the  inces- 
tuous person  at  Corinth.  This  power  of  delivering 
up  to  Satan,  to  mention  it  by  the  way,  was  a  part  of 
the  miraculous  gifts  conferred  on  the  apostles;  gifts 
transmitted  to  the  immediately  succeeding  ages  of 
the  Church,  at  least  if  Pauliness  is  to  be  credited 
on  this  subject  *,  who  relates  that  an  abandoned 
wretch  was,  by  St  Ambrosius,  delivered  up  to  Satan, 
who  tore  him  in  pieces.  Finally,  IV.  We  find  the 
Devil  designed  in  Scripture,  the  God  of  the  worlds  2 
Cor.  iv.  4.  "  and  the  Prince  of  the  power  of  the  air," 
Eph.  ii.  2.  You  likewise  see  him  represented  as 
acting  on  the  waters  of  the  sea,  as  raising  tempests, 
and  as  smiting  the  children  of  men  with  various 
kinds  of  plagues. 

But  if  the  devil  be  represented  as  exercising  an 
influence  over  the  ills  of  human  life,  he  is  still  more 
especially  represented  as  exerting  his  power  over 
our  death,  the  last  and  the  most  formidable  of  all 
our  woes.  The  Jev/s  were  impressed  with  ideas  of 
this  kind.  Nay,  they  did  not  satisfy  themselves 
with  general  notions  on  this  subject.  They  entered 
into  the  detail,  (for,  my  brethren,  it  has  been  an  in- 
firmity incident  to  man  in  every  age,  to  assert  con- 
fidently on  subjects  the  most  mysterious  ard  con- 
cealed,) they  said  that  the  Devil,  to  whom  they 
gave  the  name  of  Samael  t,  had  the  empire  of  death  : 
that  his  power  extended  so  far  as  to  prevent  the  re- 
surrection of  the  wicked.  St  Paul,  in  the  words  of 
our  text,  adopts  their  mode  of  expression,  as  his 
custom  is,  without  propagating  their  error  ;  he  de^ 
scribes  the  evil  Spirit  as  the  person  who  possesses? 
the  empi/e  of  deaths  and  who,  "  through  the  fear  of 
death,  subjects  men  all  their  life-time  to  bondage." 

But  Christians,  be  not  dismayed  at  beholding  this 
fearful  image.     "  Surely  there  is  no  inchantment 

against. 

*  Paulm.  de  Vit.  Ambros. 


a'iS  0^^  tJie  Fear  of  Death. 

against  Jacob,  neither  is  there  any  divination  against 
Israel,"  Numb,  xxiii.  23.  "  Now  is  come  salvation 
and  strength,  and  the  kingdom  of  our  God,  and  the 
power  of  his  Christ;  for  the  accuser  of  our  brethren 
is  cast  down,  which  accused  them  before  our  God 
day  and  night.  And  they  overcame  him  by  the 
blood  of  the  Lamb,"  Rev.  xii.  10,  11.  Let  us,  how- 
ever, reduce  our  reflections  on  the  subject  to  me- 
thod. Three  considerations  render  death  formida- 
ble to  man :  three  considerations  disarm  death  in 
the  apprehension  of  the  Christian  ;  1.  The  vail 
which  conceals  from  the  eyes  of  the  dying  person, 
the  state  on  which  he  is  about  to  enter :  2.  The  re- 
morse of  conscience  which  the  recollection  of  his 
guilt  excites :  3.  The  loss  of  titles,  honours,  and 
every  other  earthly  possession.  In  these  respects, 
chiefly,  "  he  who  has  the  power  of  death  subjects 
men  to  bondage :"  these  are  the  things  which  ren- 
der death  formidable. 

In  opposition  to  this,  the  death  of  Jesus  Christ, 
1.  Removes  the  vail  which  concealed  futurity  from 
us,  and  constitutes  an  authentic  proof  of  the  im- 
mortality of  the  soul.  2.  The  death  of  Jesus  Christ 
is  a  sacrifice  presented  to  divine  justice,  for  the  re- 
mission of  our  sins.  3.  The  death  of  Jesus  Christ 
gives  us  complete  assurance  of  a  blessed  eternity. 
These  are  the  three  considerations  which  disarm 
death,  in  the  apprehension  of  the  dying  believer. 
And  this  is  a  brief  abstract  of  the  important  truths 
delivered  in  this  text.^ 

The  Devil  renders  cleath  formidable,  through  un- 
certainty respecting  the  nature  of  our  souls ;  the 
death  of  Christ  dispels  that  terror,  by  demonstrat- 
ing to  us  that  the  soul  is  immortal.  The  Devil  ren- 
ders death  formidable,  by  awakening  the  recollec- 
tion of  past  guilt ;  tlie  death  of  Jesus  Christ  re- 
stores confidence  and  joy,  for  it  is  the  expiation  of 
all  our  sins.     The  Devil  clothes  death  with  terror, 

by 


On  the  Fear  of  Death,  S2& 

by  rendering  us  sensible  to  the  loss  of  those  posses* 
sions,  of  which  death  is  going  to  deprive  us :  the 
death  of  Jesus  Christ  tranquillizes  the  mind,  because 
it  is  a  pledge  to  us  of  an  eternal  felicity.  The  first 
of  these  ideas  represents  Jesus  Christ  to  us  as  a 
martyr^  who  has  sealed  with  his  own  blood,  a  doc- 
trine which  rests  entirely  on  the  immortality  of  the 
soul.  The  second  represents  him  as  a  victim,  offer- 
ing himself  in  our  stead,  to  divine  justice.  And  the 
third  represents  him  as  a  conqueror,  who  has,  by 
his  death,  acquired  for  us  a  kingdom  of  everlasting 
bliss. 

Had  we  nothing  farther  in  view,  than  to  present 
you  with  vague  ideas  of  the  sentiments  of  the  sa- 
cred authors,  on  this  subject,  here  our  discourse 
might  be  concluded.  But  these  truths,  treated  thus 
generally,  could  make  but  a  slight  impression.  It 
is  of  importance  to  press  them  one  by  one,  and,  op- 
posing in  every  particular,  the  triumph  of  the  Re- 
deemer, to  the  empire  of  the  wicked  one,  to  place 
in  its  clearest  point  of  light,  the  interesting  truth 
contained  in  our  text,  namely,  that  Jesus  Christ, 
"  through  his  own  death,  has  destroyed  him  who 
had  the  power  of  death,  that  is,  the  Devil;  that  he 
might  deliver  them  who,  through  fear  of  death,  were 
all  their  life-time  subject  to  bondage." 

I.  The  first  consideration  which  renders  death 
formidable  ;  the  first  yoke  imposed  on  the  necks  of 
the  children  of  men,  by  that  tremendous  prince  who 
has  the  power  if  deaths  is  the  fear  of  falHng  back  into 
nothing,  which  the  prospect  of  death  awakens.  The 
greatest  of  all  the  advant^iges  which  we  possess,  and 
that  which  indeed  is  the  foundation  of  all  the  rest, 
is  existence.  We  accordingly  observe  that  old  peo- 
ple, though  all  their  faculties  are  much  impaired, 
always  enjoy  a  certain  nameless  superiority  over 
young  persons.     The  reflection,  that  there  was  a 

time 


3SO  On  the  Fear  of  Death, 

time  when  they  existed,  while  as  yet  the  young  did 
not  exist,  constitutes  this  superiority  ;  and  young 
persons,  in  their  turn,  feel  a  superiority  suggested 
to  them  by  the  thought,  that  a  time  is  coming  when 
they  shall  exist,  whereas  the  others  shall  be  no  more. 
Death  terminates,  to  appearance,  an  advantage 
which  is  tlie  foundation  of  every  other.  And  is  it 
any  wonder  that  the  heart  of  man  should  sink  under 
such  a  consideration  ? 

In  vain  will  we  fiee  for  refuge,  from  this  depres- 
sing reiiection,  to  the  arguments  which  reason,  even 
a  well-directed  reason,  supplies  If  they  are  satisfy- 
ing of  themselves,  and  calculated  to  impress  tlie 
philosophic  mind,  they  are  far  beyond  the  reach  of 
a  vulgar  understanding,  to  which  the  very  terms 
sjnrituality  and  ea:istence  are  barbarous  and  unintelli- 
gible. To  no  purpose  will  we  have  recourse  to 
what  has  been  said  on  this  subject,  by  the  most  en- 
lightened of  the  Pagan  world,  and  to  w4iat,  in  par- 
ticular, Tacitus  relates  *  of  Seneca,  on  his  going  in- 
to tlie  bath  which  was  to  receive  the  blood,  as  it 
streamed  from  his  opened  veins :  he  besprinkled 
the  by-standers  with  the  fluid  in  which  his  limbs 
were  im merged,  with  this  memorable  expression, 
that  he  presented  those  drops  of  water  as  a  libation 
to  Jupiter  the  deliverer.  In  order  to  secure  us 
against  terrors  so  formidable,  w^e  must  have  a  guide 
more  safe  than  our  ow^n  reason.  In  order  to  attain 
a  persuasion  of  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  we  must 
have  a  security  less  suspicious'than  that  of  a  Socrates 
or  a  Plato.  Now  that  guide,Wiy  brethren,  is  the 
cross  of  Jesus  Christ :  that  security  is  an  expiring 
Kedeemer.  Two  principles  concur  in  the  demon- 
stration of  all-important  truth. 

1.  The  doctrine  of  Jesus  Christ  establishes  the 
immortality  of  the  soul. 

2.Th^ 

*  Annal.  Lib.  :xv- 


On  the  Fear  of  Death  331 

2.  The  death  of  Jesus  Christ  is  an  irresistible 
proof  of  the  truth  of  his  doctrine. 

1.  That  the  doctrine  of  Jesus  Christ  establislies 
the  immortality  of  the  soul  is  a  point  which  no  one 
pretends  to  dispute  with  us.  A  man  has  but  to 
open  his  eyes  in  order  to  be  convinced  of  it.  We 
shall,  accordingly,  make  but  a  single  remark  on 
this  head.  It  is  this,  that  the  doctrine  of  the  im- 
mortality of  the  soul  ought  not  to  be  considered 
merely  as  a  particular  point  of  the  religion  of  Jesus 
Christ,  independent  of  which  it  may  subsist  as  a 
complete  whole.  It  is  a  point  without  which  Chris- 
tianity cannot  exist  at  all,  and  separated  from  which 
the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  fullest,  the  most 
complete,  and  the  most  consistent  that  ever  was  pre- 
sented to  the  world,  becomes  the  most  imperfect, 
barren,  and  inconsistent.  The  whole  fabric  of  the 
gospel  rests  on  this  foundation,  that  the  soul  is  im- 
mortal. Wherefore  was  it  that  ,fesus  Christ,  the 
Lord  of  universal  nature,  had  a  manger  for  his  cra- 
dle, and  a  stable  for  his  palace  ?  because  his  Idngdom 
zi-as  not  of  this  worlds  John  xviii.  16.  this  supposes  the 
immortality  of  the  soul  Wherefore  is  the  Chris- 
tian encouraged  to  bid  defiance  to  tyrants,  who  may 
drag  him  from  a  prison,  from  a  dungeon,  who  may 
n^il  him  to  a  cross,  who  may  mangle  his  body  on  a 
wheel  ?  It  is  because  their  power  extends  no  further 
than  to  the  killing  of  the  hochj.  Mat.  x.  28.  v.hile  the 
soul  is  placed  far  beyond  their  reach.  This  sup- 
poses immortality.  Wherefore  must  the  Christian 
deem  himself  miserable,  were  he  to  atchieve  the  con- 
quest of  the  whole  world,  at  the  cxpence  of  a  good 
conscience  ?  Ikcause  it  will  profit  a  mail  nothing  to 
gain  the  whole  nor  Id,  if  he  lose  his  oxen  soul,  Matt. 
xvi.  26.  This  supposes  immortality.  Wlierefore 
are  we  not  the  most  miserable  of  all  creatures  ?  Be- 
cause xve  have  hope  in  Christ  not  for  this  lije  only^ 
1  Cor.  XV.   19.     This  supposes  immortality.     The 

doctrine 


332  On  the  Fear  oj  Death. 

doctrine  of  Jesus  Christ,  therefore,  establishes  the 
truth  of  the  immortality  of  the  soul. 

2.  But  we  said,  in  the  second  place,  that  the  death 
of  Jesus  Christ  is  a  proof  of  his  doctrine.  He  re- 
ferred the  world  to  his  death,  as  a  sign  by  which  it 
might  be  ascertained  whether  or  not  he  came  from 
God.  By  this  he  proposed  to  stop  the  mouth  of  in- 
credulity. Neither  the  purity  of  his  life,  nor  the 
sanctity  of  his  deportment,  nor  the  lustre  of  his  mi- 
racles had  as  yet  prevailed  so  far  as  to  convince  an 
unbelieving  vvorid  of  the  truth  of  his  mission.  They 
must  have  sign  upon  sign,  prodigy  upon  prodigy. 
Jesus  Christ  restricts  himself  to  one  :  "  Destroy 
this  temple,  and  within  three  days  I  will  build  it  up 
again,"  Mark  xiv.  5S.  "  An  evil  and  adulterous 
generation  seeketh  after  a  sign  ;  and  there  shall  no 
isign  be  given  to  it,  but  the  sign  of  the  prophet  Jo- 
nas," Matt.  xii.  39.  This  sign  could  not  labour  un« 
der  any  ambiguity.  And  this  sign  was  accomplish- 
ed. There  is  no  longer  room  to  doubt  of  a  truth 
demonstrated  in  a  manner  so  illustrious. 

Our  ancestors  devised*,  with  greater  simplicity, 
it  must  be  allowed,  than  strength  of  reasoning,  a 
very  singular  proof  of  the  innocence  of  persons  ac- 
cused. They  presented  to  them  a  bar  of  hot  iron. 
If  the  person  under  trial  had  the  firmness  to  grasp 
it,  and  received  no  injury  from  the  action  of  the 
burning  metal,  he  was  acquitted  of  the  charge. 
This  proof  was,  as  we  have  said,  devised  with  more 
simplicity,  than  strength  of  reasoning  :  no  one  hav- 
ing a  right  to  suppose  that  God  will  perform  a  mi- 
racle, to  evince  his  innocence  to  the  conviction  of 
his  judges.  I  acknowledge  at  the  same  time,  that 
had  I  been  an  eye  witness  of  such  an  experiment ; 
had  I  beheld  that  element  which  dissolves,  which 
devours  bodies  the  most  obdurate,  respecting  the 

hand 

^  Pasc^uier  Rccher.  de  la  France.  Liv.  iv.  2, 


On  the  Fear  of  Death.  333 

hand  of  a  person  accused^f  a  crime,  I  should  cer- 
tainly have  been  very  much  struck  at  the  sight  of 
such  a  spectacle. 

But  what  shall  we  say  of  the  Saviour  of  the  world, 
after  the  proof  to  which  he  was  put  ?  He  walked 
through  thejire^  m/hoiit  being  hurnt^  Isa.  xliii.  2.  He 
descended  into  the  bosom  of  the  grave:  the  grave  re- 
spected liim,  and  those  other  insatiables  which  ne- 
ver say  it  is  enough^  Prov.  xxx.  16.  opened  a  passage 
for  his  return  to  the  light.  You  feel  the  force  of 
this  argument.  Jesus  Christ  having  died,  in  sup- 
port of  the  truth  of  a  doctrine,  entirely  founded  on 
the  supposition  of  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  there 
is  no  longer  room  to  doubt  whether  the  soul  be  im- 
mortal. 

Let  us  here  pause  for  a  few  moments,  and  before 
we  enter  on  the  second  branch  of  our  subject,  let  us 
consider  how  far  this  position,  so  clearly  proved,  so 
firmly  established,  has  a  tendency  to  fortify  us  a- 
gainst  the  fears  of  death. 

Suppose  for  an  instant,  that  we  knew  nothing  re- 
specting the  state  of  souls,  after  this  life  is  closed, 
and  respecting  the  economy  on  which  we  must  then 
enter  ;  supposing  God  to  liave  granted  us  no  reve- 
lation whatever  on  this  interesting  article,  but  sim- 
ply this,  that  our  souls  are  immortal,  a  slight  degree 
of  meditation  on  the  case,  as  thus  stated,  ought  to 
operate  as  an  inducement  rather  to  wish  for  death, 
than  to  fear  it.  It  appears  probable  that  the  soul, 
when  disengaged  from  the  senses,  in  which  it  is 
now  enveloped,  will  subsist  in  a  manner  infinitely 
more  noble  than  it  could  do  here  below,  during  its 
union  with  matter.  We  are  perfectly  convinced 
that  the  body  will,  one  day,  contribute  greatly  to 
our  felicity  ;  it  is  an  essential  part  of  our  being, 
without  which  our  happiness  must  be  incomplete. 
But  this  necessity,  which  fetters  down  the  functions 
of  the  soul,  on  this  earth,  to  the  irregular  move- 
ments of  ill-assorted  matter,  is  a  real  bondage.  The 

2  soul 


S34  On  ike  Fear  of  Death. 

soul  is  a  prisoner  in  this  body.  A  prisoner  is  a  man 
susceptible  of  a  thousand  delights,  but  who  can  en- 
joy, however,  only  such  pleasures  as  are  compatible 
with  the  extent  of  the  place  in  which  he  is  shut  up: 
his  scope  is  limited  to  the  capacity  of  his  dungeon : 
he  beholds  the  light  only  through  the  aperture  of 
that  dungeon  :  all  his  intercourse  is  confined  to  the 
persons  who  approach  his  dungeon.  But  let  his 
prison-doors  be  thrown  open  ;  from  that  moment, 
behold  him  in  a  state  of  much  higher  felicity. 
Thenceforward  he  can  maintain  social  intercourse 
with  all  the  men  in  the  world  ;  thenceforward  he 
can  contemplate  an  unbounded  body  of  light; 
thenceforward  he  is  able  to  expatiate  over  the  spa- 
cious universe. 

This  exhibits  a  portrait  of  the  soul.  A  prisoner 
to  the  senses,  it  can  enjoy  those  delights  only  which 
have  a  reference  to  sense.  It  can  see,  only  by  means 
of  the  cuticles  and  the  fibres  of  its  eyes:  it  can  hear, 
only  by  means  of  the  action  of  the  nerves  and  tym- 
panum of  its  ears  :  it  can  think,  only  in  conformity 
to  certain  modifications  of  its  brain.  The  soul  is 
susceptible  of  a  thousand  pleasures,  of  which  it  has 
not  so  much  as  the  idea.  A  blind  man  has  a  soul 
capable  of  admitting  the  sensation  of  light ;  if  he  be 
deprived  of  it,  the  reason  is,  his  senses  are  defective, 
or  improperly  disposed.  Our  souls  are  susceptible 
of  a  thousand  unknown  sensations  ;  but  they  re- 
ceive them  not,  in  this  economy  of  imperfection  and 
wretchedness,  because  it  is  the  will  of  God  that  they 
should  perceive  only  through  the  medium  of  those 
organs,  and  that  those  organs,  from  their  limited 
nature,  should  be  capable  of  admitting  only  limited 
sensations. 

But  permit  the  soul  to  expatiate  at  large,  iQt  it 
take  its  natural  flight,  let  these  prison-walls  be 
broken  down,  O,  then  ■  the  sonl  becomes  capable 
often  thousand  inconceivable  new  delights.  V/here- 
fore  do  voii  point  to  that  ghastly  corpse  r     Where- 

iore 


On  the  Fear  of  Death.  SS5 

fore  deplore  those  eyes  closed  to  the  light,  those 
spirits  evaporated,  that  blood  frozen  in  the  veins, 
that  motionless,  lifeless  mass  of  corruption  ?  Why 
do  you  say  to  me,  "  My  friend,  my  father,  my 
*'  spouse  is  no  more  ;  he  sees,  he  hears,  he  acts  no 
"  longer.''  He  sees  no  longer,  do  you  say  ?  He 
sees  no  longer,  I  grant,  by  means  of  those  visual 
rays  which  were  formed  in  the  retina  of  the  eye  ; 
but  he  sees  as  do  those  pure  intelligences  which 
never  were  clothed  with  mortal  flesh  and  blood. 
He  hears  no  more  through  the  medium  of  the 
action  of  the  asthereai  fluid,  but  he  hears  as  a  pure 
spirit.  He  thinks  no  longer  through  the  interven- 
tion of  the  flbres  of  his  brain  ;  but  he  thinks  from 
his  own  essence,  because,  being  a  spirit,  the  fa- 
culty of  thought  is  essential  to  him,  and  insepara- 
ble from  his  nature. 


SERMON 


SERMON  Xlo 

PART  11. 
On  the  Fear  of  Death,- 


Heb,  ii.  14,  15. 


Fo7^asmuch  then  as  the  children  are  partakers  ofjiesh 
and  bloody  he  also  hhn,elf  likewise  took  part  of  the 
same  ;  that  through  death  he  might  destroy  him  that 
haa  the  power  of  deaths  that  is^  the  devil ;  and  de- 
liver them  who  through  fear  of  death  were  all  their 
Ifetime  subject  to  bondage. 

IN  discoursing  from  these  words  we  observed,  that 
death  is  rendered  formidable  toman,  by  a  three- 
fold consideration,   and  that  three  considerations  of 
an  opposite  nature  strip  him  of  all  his  terrors,  in  the 
eye  of  the  believer  in  Christ  Jesus.     Death  is  for- 
voL.  VI.  Z  midable, 


53  S  On  the  Fear  of  Death, 

midable,  1.  Because  of  the  vail  which  conceals  fiom 
the  eyes  of  the  dying  person,  that  state  on  which  he 
is  about  to  enter  ;  2.  From  remorse  of  conscience, 
which  the  recollection  of  past  guilt  excites  ;  ."i.  From 
the  loss  of  titles,  honours,  and  all  other  earthly  pos- 
sessions. 

In  opposition  to  these,  tlie  death  of  Christ,  1.  Re- 
moves the  vail  which  conceals  futurity,  and  consti- 
tutes an  authentic  proof  of  the  immortality  of  the 
soul  :  2.  It  is  a  sacrifice  presented  to  divine  justice 
for  the  remission  of  sin  :  3.  It  gives  us  complete  as- 
surance of  a  blessed  eternity.  These  are  the  consi- 
derations which  disarm  death  of  his  terror,  to  the 
dying  believer. 

We  have  finished  what  was  proposed  en  the  first 
particular,  and  have  shewn<,  1.  That  the  doctrine 
of  Jesus  Christ  fully  establishes  the  souPs  immor- 
tality ;  and,  2.  That  the  death  of  Jesus  Christ 
is  an  irresistible  proof  of  the  truth  of  his  doctrine. 

But  to  no  purpose  would  it  be  to  fortify  the  mind 
against  the  apprehension  of  ceasing  to  exist,  unless 
we  are  delivered  from  the  terror  of  being  for  ever 
miserable.  In  vain  is  it  to  have  demonstrated  that 
our  souls  are  immortal,  if  we  are  haunted  with  the 
well-grounded  apprehension  of  their  faUing  into  the 
hands  of  that  God  who  is  a  consuming  fire.  In  this 
case,  what  constitutes  a  man^s  greatness  would  con- 
stitute his  misery.     Let  us  endeavour, 

II.  In  the  second  place,  to  dissipate  the  dreadful 
apprehension  which  a  guilty  conscience  awakens  in 
the  prospect  of  judgment  to  come.  Having  con- 
sidered Jesus  Christ  as  a  marttjr,  who  sealed  with  his 
own  blood  the  doctrine  which  he  preached,  and  his 
death  as  ars  argument  in  support  of  the  immortality 
of  the  soul  taught  in  that  doctrine  :  let  us  contem- 
plate our  divine  Saviour  as  a  victim,  which  God  has 
substituted  in  our  place^  and  his  death  as  a  sacrifice 

offered 


Oil  the  Fear  of  Death  3S9 

offered  up  to  divine  justice,  for  the  expiation  of  our 
offences. 

One  of  the  principal  dangers  to  be  avoided  in  con- 
troversies, and  particularly  in  that  which  we  are  go- 
ing to  handle,  is  to  imagine  that  all  arguments  are 
of  equal  force.  Extreme  care  must  betaken  to  as- 
sign to  each  its  true  limits,  and  to  sa}'",  this  argu- 
ment proves  thus  far,  that  other  goes  so  much  farther. 
We  must  thus  advance  step  by  step  up  to  truth  and 
form,  of  those  arguments  united,  a  demonstration  so 
much  the  more  satisfactory,  in  proportion  as  we  have 
granted  to  those  who  dispute  it,  all  that  they  could 
in  reason  ask.  On  this  principle  we  divide  our  ar- 
guments into  two  classes.  The  first  we  propose  on- 
ly as  presumptions  in  favour  of  the  doctrine  of  the 
satisfaction.  To  the  second  we  ascribe  the  solidity 
and  weight  of  demonstration;  Of  the  first  class  are 
the  following. 

1.  We  allege  human  reason  as  a  presumptive  argu- 
ment in  support  of  the  doctrine  which  we  maintain. 
We  do  not  mean  to  affirm,  that  human  reason  de- 
rives from  the  stores  of  her  own  illumination  the 
truth  of  this  doctrine.  So  far  from  that,  we  confi- 
dently affirm,  that  this  is  one  of  the  mysteries  which 
are  infinitely  beyond  the  reach  of  human  under- 
standing. It  \s  one  of  the  things  which  ei/e  hath  not 
seen,  nor  ear  heard,  neither  have  entered  into  the  heart 
of  man,  1  Cor.  ii.  9.  But  we  say  that  tins  mystery 
presents  nothing  that  shocks  human  reason,  or  that 
implies  a  shadow  of  contradiction.  What  do  we 
believe  ?  That  God  has  united  the  human  nature  to 
the  divine,  in  the  person  of  .lesus  Christ,  in  a  man- 
ner somewhat  resembling  that  in  which  he  has  unit- 
ed the  body  to  the  soul,  in  the  person  of  man*  We 
say  that  this  con^position,  (pardon  the  expression) 
this  composition  of  Humanity  and  of  Deity  suffer- 
ed in  what  was  hum.an  of  it  ;  and  that  what  was  di- 
vine 
2 


f340  On  the  Fear  of  Death, 

vine  gave  value  to  the  sufferings  of  the  man,  some- 
whatafter  the  manner  in  which  we  put  respect  on  a 
human  body,  not  as  a  material  substance,  but  as 
trnited  to  an  intelligent  soul. 

These  are  the  terms  in  which  we  propose  our 
Tnystery.  And  there  is  nothing  in  this  which  in- 
volves a  contradiction.  If  we  had  said  that  the  Di- 
vinity and  Humanity  were  confounded  or  common  ; 
if  we  had  said  that  Deity,  who  is  impassible,  suffer- 
ed ;  if  we  had  said  that  Jesus  Christ  as  God  made 
satisfaction  to  Jesus  Christ  as  God,  reason  might 
have  justly  reclaimed ;  but  we  say  that  Jesus  Christ 
suffered  as  man  ;  we  say  that  the  two  natures  in  his 
person  were  distinct ;  we  say  that  Jesus  Christ,  suf- 
fering as  man,  made  satisfaction  to  God  maintaining 
the  rights  of  Deity.  This  is  the  first  step  we  ad- 
vance in  this  career.  Our  first  argument  we  carry 
thus  far,  and  no  farther. 


2.  Our  second  argument  is  taken  from  the  divine 
i;ustice.  We  say  that  the  idea  which  we  have  of  the 
divine  justice,  presents  nothing  inconsistent  with  the 
doctrine  we  are  endeavouring  to  establish,  but  on 
the  contrary,  leads  us  directly  to  adopt  it.  The  di- 
vine justice  would  be  in  opposition  to  our  doctrine, 
did  we  affirm  that  the  innocent  Jesus  suflfered,  as 
an  innocent  person  ;  but  we  say  that  he  suffered,  as 
loaded  with  the  ^juilt  of  the  whole  human  race. 
The  divine  justice  would  be  in  opposition  to  our 
doctrine,  did  we  affirm  that  Jesus  Christ  had  the 
imqiiiti)  of  us  fill  laid  upon  h'un,  whether  he  would 
or  not ;  but  we  say  that  he  took  this  heavy  load 
.upon  himself,  voluntarily.  The  divine  justice 
would  be  in  opposition  to  our  doctrine,  did  we 
affirm  that  Jesus  Christ  took  on  himself  the  load 
of  human  guilt,  to  encourage  men  in  the  practice 
of  sin;  but  we  say  that  he  acted  thus  in  the  view 
of  sanctifying'-  them,    by  procuring    their  pardon. 


On  the  Fear  of  Death,  S41 

The  divine  justice  would  be  in  opposition  to  our 
doctrine  did  we  affirm,  that  Jesus  Christ,  in  assuin» 
ing  the  load  of  our  guilt,  sunk  under  the  weight  of 
it,  so  that  the  universe,  for  the  sake  of  a  few  guilty 
wretches,  was  deprived  of  the  most  distinguished 
being  that  could  possibly  exist ;  but  we  say  that 
Jesus  Christ,  in  dying  for  us,  came  off  victorious 
over  death  and  the  grave.  The  divine  justice, 
therefore,  presents  nothing  inconsistent  with  the 
doctrine  of  the  satisfaction. 

But  we  go  much  farther,  and  affirm,  that  the  idea 
of  divine  justice  leads  directly  to  the  doctrine.  The 
atonement  corresponds  to  the  demands  of  justice. 
We  shall  not  here  presume  to  determine  the  ques- 
tion. Whether  it  is  possible  for  God,  consistently 
with  his  perfections,  to  pardon  sin  without  exact- 
ing a  satisfaction.  Whatever  advantage  w^e  might 
have  over  those  who  deny  our  thesis,  we  shall  not 
press  it  on  the  present  occasion.  But,  in  any  case, 
they  must  be  disposed  to  make  this  concession,  that 
if  the  wisdom  of  God  has  devised  the  means  of  ob- 
taining a  signal  satisfaction  to  justice,  in  unison 
with  the  most  illustrious  display  of  goodness  ;  if  he 
can  give  to  the  universe  an  unequivocal  proof  of 
his  abhorrence  of  sin,  in  the  very  act  of  pardoning 
the  sinner ;  if  there  be  a  method  to  keep  offenders 
in  awe,  even  while  mercy  is  extended  to  them,  it 
must  undoubtedly  be  more  proper  to  employ  such 
a  method  than  to  omit  it.  This  is  the  second  step 
we  advance  toward  our  conclusion.  Our  second  ar- 
gument we  carry  thus  far,  and  no  farther. 

3.  Our  third  consideration  is  taken  from  the 
suggestions  of  conscience,  and  from  the  practice  of 
all  nations.  Look  at  the  most  polished,  and  at  the 
most  barbarous  tribes  of  the  human  race ;  at  na- 
tions the  most  idolatrous,  and  at  those  which  have 
discovered  the  purest  ideas  on  the  subject  of  reli- 
gion.    Consult  authors  of  the  remotest  antiquity, 

aiul 


342  On  the  Fear  of  Death, 

and  authors  the  most  recent :  transport  yourself  to 
the  ancient  Egyptians,  to  the  Phenicians,  to  the 
Gauls,  to  the  Carthaginians,  and  you  will  find  that, 
in  all  ages,  and  in  every  part  of  the  globe,  men 
have  expressed  a  belief  that  the  Deity  expected  sa- 
crifices should  be  offered  up  to  him ;  nay,  not  only 
sacrifices,  but  such  as  had,  as  far  as  it  was  possible, 
something  like  a  proportion  to  his  greatness.  Hence 
those  magnificent  temples;  hence  those  hecatombs; 
hence  those  human  victims  ;  hence  that  blood  which 
streamed  on  the  altars,  and  so  many  other  rites  of 
religious  worship,  the  existence  of  which  no  one  is 
disposed  to  call  in  question.  What  consequence  do 
we  deduce  from  this  position  ?  The  truth  of  the  doc- 
trine of  the  atonement?  No  :  we  do  not  carry  our 
inference  so  far.  We  only  conclude,  that  there  is 
no  room  to  run  down  the  Christian  religion,  if  it 
instructs  us  that  God  demanded  satisfaction  to  his 
justice,  by  an  expiatory  sacrifice,  before  he  could 
give  an  unrestrained  course  to  his  goodness. 
This  third  argument  we  carry  thus  far,  and  no 
farther. 

4.  A  fourth  reflection  hinges  on  the  correspon- 
dence of  our  belief,  respecting  this  particular,  with 
that  of  every  age  of  the  Christian  church,  in  unin- 
terrupted succession,  from  Jesus  Christ  down  to  our 
own  times.  All  the  ages  of  the  Christian  world 
have,  as  we  do,  spoken  of  this  sacrifice.  But  we 
must  not  enlarge.  Whoever  wishes  for  complete 
information  on  this  particular,  will  find  a  very  ac- 
curate collection  of  the  testimonies  of  the  fathers, 
at  the  end  of  the  treatise  on  the  satisfaction,  com- 
posed by  the  celebrated  Grotius.  The  doctrine  of 
the  atonement,  therefore,  is  not  a  doctrine  of  yes- 
terday, but  has  been  transmitted  from  age  to  age, 
from  Jesus  Christ  down  to  our  ov/n  times.  This 
argument  we  carry  thus  far  and  no  farther. 

Here  then  we  havfe  a  class  of  arguments  which, 
after  all,  we  would  have  you  to  consider  only  as  so 
many  presumptions  in  favour  of  the  doctrine  of  the 

atonement. 


0n  the  Fear  of  Deaths  $43 

atonement.  But  surely  we  are  warranted  to  proceed 
thus  tar,  at  least,  in  concluding:  a  doctrine  in  which 
human  reason  finds  nothing  contradictory ;  a  doc- 
trine which  presents  nothing  repugnant  to  the  di- 
vine attributes,  nay  to  which  the  divine  attributes 
directly  lead  us  ;  a  doctrine  perfectly  conformable 
to  the  suggestions  of  conscience,  and  to  the  prac- 
tice of  mankind  in  every  age,  and  of  every  nation  ; 
a  doctrine  received  in  the  Christian  church,  from 
the  beginning  till  now  ;  a  doctrine  which,  in  all  its 
parts,  presents  nothing  but  what  is  entirely  worthy 
of  God,  when  we  examine  it  at  the  tribunal  of  our 
own  understanding :  such  a  doctrine  contains  no- 
thing to  excite  our  resentment,  nothing  that  e 
ought  not  to  be  disposed  to  admit,  if  we  find  it 
clearly  laid  down  in  the  Scriptures. 

Now,  my  brethren,  we  have  only  to  open  the 
Bible  m  order  to  find  express  testimonies  to  this 
purpose  ;  and  not  only  do  we  meet  with  an  infinite 
number  of  passages  in  which  the  doctrine  is  clearly 
taught,  but  a  multitude  of  classes  of  such  passages. 

1.  In  the  first  class,  we  must  rank  all  those  pas- 
sages which  declare  that  Jesus  Christ  died  for  us. 
It  would  be  no  easy  matter  to  enumerate  them  :  "  I 
delivered  unto  you  first  of  all,"  says  St  Paul  in  his 
first  epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  xv.  3.  "  that  which 
I  also  received,  how  that  Christ  died  for  our  sins, 
according  to  the  Scriptures.  Christ  also  hath  once 
suftered  for  sins,*'  says  St  Peter,  in  his  first  epistle 
general,  iii.  18.  "  the  just  for  the  unjust,  that  he 
might  bring  us  to  God.'' 

2.  In  a  second  class  must  be  ranked  those  pas- 
sages which  represent  Jesus  Christ  as  suffering  the 
punishment  which  we  had  deserved.  The  fifty- 
third  chapter  of  the  prophet  Isaiah  turns  entirely  on 
this  subject:  and  the  apostles  hold  the  self  same  lan- 
guage. They  say  expressly  tliat  Christ  U'a$  made  to  be 
sin  for  us^  who  knew  no  sin ^  2  Cor.  v.  21.  that  he 
\V2L'S>  made  a  curse  for  us ^  Gal.  iii.  13.  that  he  bare 
m(r  sins  in  his  own  body  on  the  tree.  1  Pet.  ii.  24* 

S,  In 


344  .    Bn  the  Fear  of  Deaths 

3.  In  a  third  class  must  be  ranked  all  those  pas- 
sages in  which  our  salvation  is  represented  as  being 
the  fruit  of  Christ's  death.  The  persons,  whose 
opinions  we  are  combating,  maintain  themselves  on 
a  ground  which  we  estabHshed  in  a  former  branch 
of  this  discourse,  namely,  that  the  death  of  Jesus 
Christ  was  a  demonstration  of  the  truth  of  his  doc- 
trine. They  say  that  this  is  the  reason  for  which 
our  salvation  is  considered  as  the  effect  of  that  death. 
JBut  if  we  are  saved  by  the  death  of  Jesus  Christ, 
merely  because  it  has  sealed  a  doctrine  which  leads 
to  salvation,  how  comes  it  then,  that  our  salvation 
is  no  where  ascribed  to  the  other  parts  of  his  mini- 
stry, which  contributed,  no  less  than  his  death,  to 
the  confirmation  of  his  doctrine?  Were  not  the 
miracles  of  Jesus  Christ,  for  example,  proofs  equally 
authentic  as  his  death  was,  of  the  truth  of  his  doc- 
trine ?  Whence  comes  it,  that  our  salvation  is  no 
w^here  ascribed  to  them  ?  This  is  the  very  thing 
we  are  maintaining.  The  resurrection,  the  as- 
cension, the  miracles  were  absolutely  necessary  to 
give  us  assurance,  that  the  wrath  of  God  was  ap- 
peased ;  but  Christ's  death  alone  was  capable  of  pro- 
ducing that  effect.  You  will  more  sensibly  feel  the 
force  of  this  argument,  if  you  attend  to  the  connec- 
tion which  our  text  has  with  what  follows  in  the 
17th  verse,  "  Wherefore  in  all  things  it  behoved  him 
to  be  made  like  unto  his  brethren  ;  that  he  might  be 
a  merciful  and  faithful  high-priest  ....  to  make 
reconciliation  for  the  sins  of  the  people." 

If  we  are  saved  by  the  death  of  Jesus  Christ,  m.ere- 
ly  because  that  event  sealed  the  truth  of  his  doc- 
trine, wherefore  should  it  have  been  necessary  for 
him  to  assume  our  flesh  ?  Had  he  descended  from 
heaven  in  the  effulgepce  of  his  glory  ;  had  he  ap- 
peared upon  Mount  Zion,  such  as  he  was  upon 
Mount  Sinai,  in  flashes  of  lightning,  with  the  voice 
of  thunder,  with  a  retinue  of  angels  ;  would  not  the 
truth  of  the  gospel  have  been  established  infinitely 

•  better 


On  the  Fear  of  Death.  345 

better  than  by  the  death  of  a  man  ^  Wherefore, 
then,  was  it  necessary  that  Christ  should  die  ?  It 
was  because  the  victim  of  our  transgressions  must  be 
put  to  death.  This  is  St  Paul's  reasoning.  And 
for  this  reason  it  is  that  our  salvation  is  no  where 
ascribed  to  the  death  of  the  martyrs,  though  the 
death  of  the  martyrs  was,  like  that  of  Jesus  Christ, 
a  proof  of  the  truth  of  the  gospel. 

4.  In  a  fourth  class,  must  be  ranked  all  those 
passages  which  represent  the  death  of  Jesus  Christ 
as  the  body  and  the  reahty,  of  which  all  the  sacri- 
fices prescribed  by  tiie  law  were  but  the  figure  and 
the  shadow.  We  shall  select  a  single  one  out  of  a 
multitude  The  greatest  part  of  the  Epistle  to  the 
Hebrews  may  be  quoted  to  this  effect.  It  is  evi- 
dent that  the  great  object  of  its  author  is  to  engage 
Christians  to  look  for  that  in  the  sacrifice  of  .  esus 
Christ,  which  the  Jews,  to  no  purpose,  sougfit  for 
in  those  which  Moses  prescribed.  Now  what  did 
the  Jews  look  for  in  their  sacrifices  ?  Was  it  not  the 
means  of  appeasing  the  Deity  ?  If,  therefore,  the 
sacrifices  of  the  Jews  were  the  expiation  of  sin,  only 
in  figure  and  in  a  shadow,  if  the  sacrifice  of  Jesus 
Christ  be  their  body  and  reality,  does  it  not  follow 
that  Jesus  Christ  has  really  and  literally  expiated 
our  transgressions  ?  To  pretend  that  the  Levitical 
sacrifices  were  not  offered  up  for  t\\Q  expiation  of 
great  offences,  but  only  for  certain  external  indecen- 
cies, which  rather  polluted  the  flesh,  than  wounded 
the  conscience,  is  an  attempt  to  maintain  one  error 
by  another  ;  for  a  man  has  only  to  open  his  eyes,  to 
be  convinced  that  the  Levitical  sacrifices  were  offer- 
ed up  for  offences  the  most  atrocious ;  it  is  needless 
to  adduce  any  other  evidence  than  the  annual  sacri- 
fice prescribed.  Lev.  xvi.  21,  22.  in  the  offering  of 
which,  Aaron  "  laid  both  his  hands  upon  the  head 
of  the  live  goat,  and  confessed  over  him.  all  the  ini- 
€]uities  of  the  children  of  Israel^  and  all  their  trans- 
gressions 


346  On  the  Fear  ofDeaiJu 

gressionsin  all  their  sins  ....  and  the  goat  did  bear 
upon  him  all  their  iniquities." 

5,  In  a  fifth  class  must  be  ranked  the  circum- 
stances of  the  passion  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  of  his 
agony  in  the  garden  ;  that  sorrow,  those  fears,  those 
agitations,  those  cries,  those  tears,  that  bloody  sweat, 
those  bitter  complaints  :  My  God,  my  God,  why  hast 
thou  forsaken  me  ?  Mat.  xxvii.  46.  The  argument 
derived  from  this  will  appear  of  still  greater  weight, 
if  you  support  it  by  thus  reflecting,  that  no  person 
in  the  universe  ought  to  have  met  death  with  so 
much  joy  as  Jesus  Christ,  had  he  suffered  a  mere  or* 
dinary  death.  Christ  died  with  a  perfect  submission 
to  the  will  of  his  Father,  and  with  a  fervent  love  to 
mankind.  Christ  died  in  tlie  full  assurance  of  the 
justice  of  his  cause,  and  of  the  innocency  of  his 
life.  Christ  died  completely  persuaded  of  the  im- 
mortality of  the  soul,  and  of  the  certainty  of  a  life 
to  come.  Christ  died  under  a  complete  assurance 
of  tlie  exalted  felicity  which  he  was  to  enjoy  after 
death.  He  had  come  from  God.  He  was  returning 
to  God.  Nay,  there  ought  to  have  been  something 
more  particular  in  his  triumph,  than  in  that  of  the 
generality  of  believers.  Because  he  had  made  him- 
,self  of  no  reputation  ;  God  was  about  to  give  hiyn  a 
name  'ischich  is  above  every  name.  A  cloud  was  going 
to  serve  him  as  a  triumphal  car,  and  the  Church 
triumphant  was  preparing  to  receive  him  with  accla- 
mations of  joy,  "  Lift  up  your  heads,  O  ye  gates, 
and  be  ye  lift  up,  ye  everlasting  doors,  and  the  King 
of  Glory  shall  come  in,"  Ps.  xxiv.  7. 

What  then,  are  we  to  expect  that  Jesus  Christ 
shall  do  ?  Shall  we  behold  him  advancing  to  meet 
death  with  joy  ?  Shall  he  not  say  with  St  Paul,  My 
desire  is  to  depart?  Shall  he  not  in  rapture  exclaim  ; 
"  This  day  crowns  are  to  be  distributed,  and  I  go 
to  receive  my  share  ?"  No,  Jesus  Christ  trembles,  he 
turns  pale,  lie  fears,  he  sweats  great  drops  of  blood  : 

whereas 


0?i  the  Fear  of  Death.  347 

whereas  the  martyrs,  with  inferior  illumination,  with 
feebler  motives,  have  braved  death,  have  bidden  de- 
fiance to  the  most  horrid  torments,  have  filled  their 
tormentors  with  astonishment.  Whenfce  comes  this 
difference  ?  From  the  very  point  which  we  are  en^ 
deavouring  to  establish.  The  death  of  Jesus  Christ 
is  widely  different  from  that  of  the  martyrs.  The 
martyrs  found  death  already  disarmed  :  Jesus  Christ 
died  to  disarm  this  king  of  terrors.  The  martyrs 
presented  themselves  before  the  throne  of  grace  : 
Jesus  Christ  presented  himself  at  the  tribunal  of  jus- 
tice. The  martyrs  pleaded  the  merits  of  Christ's 
death :  Jesus  Christ  interceded  in  behalf  of  the 
martyrs. 

Let  the  great  adversary,  then  do  his  worst  to  ter- 
rify me  with  the  image  of  the  crimes  w^hich  I  have 
committed  ;  let  him  trace  them  before  my  eyes  in 
the  blackest  characters  which  his  malignity  can  em- 
ploy ;  let  him  collect  into  one  dark  point,  all  that 
is  hideous  and  hateful  in  my  life  ;  let  him  attempt  to 
overwhelm  me  with  dismay,  by  rousing  the  idea  of 
that  tremendous  tribunal,  before  which  all  the  ac- 
tions of  men  are  to  be  scrutinized,  so  that  like 
Joshua  the  hi<^h  priest^  I  find  myself  standing  in  the 
presence  of  God,  clothed  mth filthy  garments^  Zech. 
iii.  1.  &c.  and  Satan  standing  at  hisr  right  hand  to 
expose  my  turpitude  :  I  hear,  at  the  same  time,  the 
voice  of  one  pleading  in  my  behalf;  i  hear  these 
reviving  words  :  "  Is  not  this  a  brand  plucked  out 
of  the  fire?  ....  Take  away  the  filthy  garments 
from  him  ....  Let  them  set  a  fair  mitre  upon  his 
head  ....  and  I  will  clotlie  him  with  change  of 
raiment." 


SERMON 


SERMON   XI. 

PART  III. 
On  the  Fear  of  Death 


Heb.  ii.  14,  15. 


Forasmuch  then  as  the  children  are  partakers  of  flesh 
and  bloody  he  also  himself  likewise  took  part  of  the 
same  ;  that  through  death  he  might  destroy  him  that 
had  the  power  ofdeaik^  that  is  the  devil ;  and  de- 
liter  them  who  through  fear  of  death  were  all  their 
lifetime  sid^ect  to  bondage. 


w 


E  now  come  in  the 


III.  Tliird  and  last  place,,  to  consider  death  ren- 
dered formidable,  from  its  being  attended  with  the 
loss  of  titles,  honours,  and  every  other  earthly  pos- 
session, and,  in  opposition  to  this,  we  are  to  view  the 
death  of  Jesus  Christ  as  removing  that  terror,  by 
giving  us  complete  assurance  of  a  blessed  eternity. 
We  are  going  to  contemplate  death  as  an  universal 
shipwreck,  swallowing  up  all  our  worldly  fortunes 
and  prospects.  We  are  going  to  contemplate  Jesus 
Christ  as  a  conqueror^  and  his  death  as  the  pledge  and 

security 


350  On  the  Fear  of  Death, 

security  of  a  boundless  and  everlasting  felicity,  which 
shall  amply  compensate  to  us  the  loss  of  all  those 
possessions,  of  which  we  are  about  to  be  stripped 
by  the  unsparing  hand  of  death. 

When  we  attempt  to  stammer  out  a  few  words 
from  the  pulpit,  respecting  the  felicity  which  God 
has  laid  up  for  his  people  in  another  world,  we  bor- 
row the  images  of  every  thing  that  is  capable  of 
touching  the  heart,  and  of  communicating  delight. 
We  call  in  to  our  assistance  the  soul  of  man,  with 
all  its  exalted  faculties  ;  the  body,  with  all  its  beau- 
tiful forms  and  proportions  ;  Nature,  with  her  over- 
flowing treasures ;  society,  with  its  enchanting  de- 
lights ;  the  church,  with  its  triumphs  ;  eternity, 
with  its  unfathomable  abysses  of  joy.  Of  all  these 
ingredients  blended  we  compose  a  faint  representa- 
tion of  the  celestial  blessedness. 

The  soul  of  man  constitutes  one  ingredient,  and 
we  say,  In  heaven  your  soul  shall  arrive  at  its 
highest  pitch  of  attainable  perfection  :  it  shall  ac- 
quire expansive  illumination,  it  shall  reach  sublime 
heights  of  virtue,  it  shall  "  behold  as  in  a  glass  the 
glory  of  the  Lord,  and  shall  be  changed  into  the 
same  image,  from  glory  to  glory,*^  2  Cor.  iii.  18. 

The  body  furnishes  a  second  ingredient,  and  we 
say,  In  heaven  your  body  shall  be  exempted  from 
all  the  defects  by  v/hich  it  is  at  present  disfigured, 
from  those  diseases  which  now  prey  upon  and  waste 
it,  from  that  death  which  destroys  the  fabric. 

Nature  supplies  a  third  ingredient,  and  we  say. 
In  heaven  all  the  stores  of  Nature  shall  be  displayed 
in  rich  profusion:  "  the  foundations  of  the  holy  city 
are  of  jasper,  its  gates  are  of  pearl,  its  walls  are  of 
pure  gold,"  Rev.  xxi.  21. 

Society  supplies  a  fourth  ingredient,  and  we  'Say, 
In  heaven  shall  be  united  in  the  tenderest  social 
bonds  kindred  spirits  the  most  exalted  j  souls  the 

most 


On  the  Fear  of  Death,  Sol 

most  refined  :  hearts  the  most  generous  and  en- 
larged. 

The  church  supplies  a  fifth  ingredient,  and  v/e 
say.  In  heaven  shall  be  exhibited  the  triumph  of 
the  faithful  over  tyrants  confounded,  the  saints  shall 
be  enthroned,  the  martyrs  shall  appear  with  palms 
in  their  hands,  and  with  crowns  upon  their  heads. 

Eternity  supplies  a  sixth  ingredient,  and  we  say. 
In  heaven  you  shall  enjoy  a  felicity  infinite  in  its  du- 
ration, and  immeasurable  in  its  degree,  years  accu-- 
mulated  upon  years,  ages  upon  ages  shall  effect  no 
diminution  of  its  length  ;  and  so  of  the  rest. 

This  day.  Christians,  in  which  we  are  represent- 
ing death  to  you  as  an  universal  wreck  which  swal^ 
lows  up  all  your  possessions,  your  titles,  your  great- 
ness, your  riches,  your  social  connections,  aii  that 
you  were,  and  all  that  you  hoped  to  be  ;  this  day^ 
while  we  are  attempting  to  convey  to  you  an  idea 
of  the  celestial  felicity,  capable  of  strengthening  you 
to  behold,  without  dismay,  this  universal  wreck,  in 
which  you  are  going  to  be  involved  ;  this  day  we 
eould  wisli  you  to  conceive  the  heavenly  world,  and 
the  blessedness  which  God  is  there  preparing  for 
you  under  another  idea.  We  mean  to  trace  ano- 
ther view  of  it,  the  lustre  of  which  effaces  all  the 
rest.  We  build  upon  this  foundation  of  St  Paul : 
He  that  spared  not  his  own  Son^  but  delivered  him  itp 
Jor  us  ally  how  shall  he  ?iot  with  him  also  freely  give 
us  all  things?  Rom.  viii.  32.  The  heavenly  bless- 
edness is  the  purcliase  of  the  death  of  Jesus  Christ. 
Here  collect,  my  brethren,  every  thing  that  is  ca- 
pable of  enhancing  to  your  apprehension  th'^  un- 
speakable greatness  and  importance  of  that  death. 

View  the  death  of  Christ  relatively  to  tiie  types 
which  prefigured  it ;  relatively  to  the  shadows  by 
which  it  was  adumbrated  ;  relatively  to  the  cere- 
monies by  which  it  w^as  represented  :  relatively  to 
the  oracles  which  predicted  it. 

View  the  death  of  Christ  relatively  to  the  teui- 
3  pests 


352  On  the  Fear  ofDeatlu 

pests  and  thunder-bolts  which  were  levelled  at  the 
head  of  the  Redeemer.  Behold  his  soul  overwhelm- 
ed with  sorrow  ;  behold  that  blood  falling  down  to 
the  ground  ;  that  cup  of  bitterness  which  was  gw^VL 
him  to  drink  ;  hearken  to  that  insulting  language, 
to  those  calumnies,  to  those  false  accusations,  to 
that  unjust  sentence  of  condemnation ;  behold  those 
hands  and  feet  pierced  with  nails,  that  sacred  body 
speedily  reduced  to  one  ghastly  wound ;  behold  that 
licentious  rabble  clamorously  demanding  the  punish- 
ment of  the  cross,  and  increasing  the  horror  of  it 
by  every  indignity  which  malice  could  invent ; 
look  up  to  heaven  itself,  and  behold  the  eternal  Fa- 
ther abandoning  the  son  of  his  love  to  so  many  woes; 
behold  hell  in  concert  with  heaven,  and  heaven  with 
the  earth. 

View  the  death  of  Christ  relatively  to  the  dread- 
ful signs  by  wiiich  it  was  accompanied  ;  relatively 
to  that  earth  seized  with  trembling,  to  that  sun 
shrouded  in  darkness,  to  those  rocks  rent  asunder, 
to  those  opening  graves,  to  those  departed  saints 
returning  to  the  light  of  day. 

View  the  death  of  Christ  relatively  to  the  great- 
ness of  God,  and  to  the  littleness  of  man,  in  whose 
behalf  all  this  bloody  scene  was  transacted. 

Collect  all  these  various  particulars,  and  still  say' 
to  yourself.  The  death  of  Jesus  Christ  is  all  this. 
The  death  of  Jesus  Christ  is  the  body  of  the  figures, 
the  original  of  the  types,  the  reality  of  the  shad.>ws, 
the  acconiphshment  of  the  prophecies.  The  death 
of  Jesus  Christ  is  that  great  event  which  darkened 
the  sun,  which  opened  the  tombs,  which  rent  a  un- 
der the  rocks,  which  made  the  earth  to  tremble, 
which  turned  nature  and  the  elements  upside  down. 
Follow  up  these  reflections,  and  on  these  let  your 
imagination  settle. 

The  death  of  Jesus  Christ  conceived  thus,  apply 
it  to  the  subject  which  we  are  treating.  The  death 
of  Jesus  Christ  conceived  thus,  let  it  serve  to  assist 

3  vou 


t)n  the  Fear  of  Death.  35S 

you  in  forming  an  idea  of  the  heavenly  blessedness. 
Still  build  on  this  foundation  of  St  Paul ;  say  with 
that  apostle,  *'  He  that  spared  not  his  own  Son,  but 
delivered  him  up  for  us  all,  how  shall  he  not  with  him 
also  freely  give  us  alj  things  !"  You  regret  the  world  ; 
you  who  are  advancing  on  your  way  heavenward* 
And  what  is  heaven  ^  It  is  the  purchase  of  Christ's 
death.  "  He  that  spared  not  his  own  Son,  but  deli- 
vered him  up  for  us  all,  how  shall  he  not  with  him 
also  freely  give  us  all  things  ?"  If  the  means  be  thus 
great,  what  must  the  end  be  I  If  the  preparatives  be 
thus  magnificent,  what  must  be  the  issue  !  «.£  the  con* 
flict  be  thus  sharp,  what  must  be  the  victory !  If  the 
price  be  thus  costly,  what,  O  what,  shall  be  the  bliss 
while  this  price  is  intended  to  purchase. 

After  that,  my  brethren,  return  to  the  world. — • 
What  is  it  you  regret  ?  Are  you  regretting  the  loss  of 
palaces,  of  sceptres,  of  crowns?  It  is  to  regret 
the  humble  crook  in  your  hand,  the  cottage  which 
covers  your  head.  Do  you  regret  the  loss  of  socie- 
ty, a  society  whose  defects  and  whose  delights  are 
frequently  an  equal  source  of  misery  to  you  ?  Ah  ! 
phantom  of  vain  desire,  will  you  still  present  illu- 
sion to  the  eye?  Will  you  still  maintain  your 
ground  against  those  solid  blessings  which  the  death 
of  Jesus  Christ  has  purchased  for  us?  Ah!  broken 
cisterns,  will  you  still  preserve  a  preference  in  our 
esteem  to  the  fountain  of  Iking  neater s  ?  Ah  I  great 
High-priest  of  the  new  covenant,  shall  we  still  find 
it  painfully  difficult  to  follow  thee,  whilst  thou  art 
conducting  us  to  heavenly  places,  by  the  bloody 
traces  of  thy  cross  and  martyrdom.  Jesus  Christ  is 
a  conqueror ^  who  has  acquired  for  us  a  kingdom  of 
glory  and  fehcity  ;  his  death  is  an  invaluable  pledge 
of  a  triumphant  eternity. 

Death,  then,  has  nothing,  henceforw^ard,  that  is 
formidable  to  the  Christian.  In  the  tomb  of  Jesus 
Christ  are  dissipated  all  the  terrors  which  the  tomb 

VOL.  VI,  ?  A  of 


354'  On  the  Tear  of  Beatfu 

of  nature  presents.  In  the  tomb  of  nature  I  perceive 
a  gloomy  night,  which  the  eye  is  unable  to  pene- 
trate ;  in  the  tomb  of  Jesus  Christ  I  behold  light 
and  Hfe.  In  the  tomb  of  nature  the  punishment  of  sin 
stares  me  in  the  face  ;  in  the  tomb  of  Jesus  Christ  I 
find  the  expiation  of  it.  In  the  tomb  of  nature  I 
read  the  fearful  doom  pronounced  upon  Adam,  and 
upon  all  his  miserable  posterity  :  "  Dust  thou  art,  and 
unto  dust  shalt  thou  return,'*  Gen.  iii.  19.  but  in  the 
tomb  of  Jesus  Christ  my  tongue  is  loosed  into  this 
triumphant  song  of  praise,  ^'  O  death,  where  is  thy 
sting?  O  grave,  where  is  thy  victory  ?...  .Thanks 
be  to  God  who  giveth  us  the  victory,  through  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,"  1  Cor.  xv.  55,  57.  "  Through 
death  he  has  destroyed  him  that  had  the  power  of 
death,  that  is,  the  devil ;  that  he  might  dehver  them 
who  through  fear  of  death  were  all  their  lifetime  sub> 
ject  to  bondage." 

The  Application. 

But  if  these  be  our  privileges,  is  it  not  matter  of 
reproach  to  us,  my  brethren,  that  brought  up  in  the 
knowledge  and  profession  of  a  religion  which  fur- 
nishes arms  so  powerful  for  combating  the  terrors  of 
death,  we  should  still,  for  the  most  part,  view  it 
only  with  fear  and  trembling  ?  The  fact  is  too  evi- 
dent to  be  denied.  From  the  shghtest  study  of  by 
far  the  greatest  part  of  professing  Christians,  it  is 
clearly  apparent  that  they  consider  death  as  the 
greatest  of  all  calamities.  And  with  a  very  slender 
experience  of  the  state  of  dying  persons,  it  will  be 
found  that  there  are  few,  very  few  indeed,  who  die 
without  regret,  few  but  who  have  need  to  exercise 
all  their  submission,  at  a  season  when  it  might  be 
expected  they  should  give  themselves  up  to  trans- 
ports of  joy.  A  vapour  in  the  head  disconcerts  us ; 
''  we 


On  tile  Fear  of  Death,  So  5 

we  are  alarmed  if  the  artery  happens  to  beat  a  little 
faster  than  usual ;  the  least  apprehension  of  death  in- 
spires us  with  an  unaccountable  melancholy,  and  op- 
pressive dejection. 

But  those  apprehensions  and  terrors,  my  bre- 
thren, surprising  as  they  may  appear  to  us,  have  no- 
thing which  ought  really  to  fill  us  with  surprise.  If 
to  apply  to  a  man's  self  the  fruits  of  the  death  of 
Jesus  Christ  were  a  simple  act  of  the  understanding, 
a  simple  movement  of  the  heart,  a  simple  acknow- 
ledgment of  the  tongue  :  if  to  apply  to  a  man's 
self  the  fruits  of  the  death  of  Christ  were  no- 
thing more  than  what  a  hardened  sinner  is  capa- 
ble of  figuring  to  himself,  or  than  what  is  pre^ 
scribed  to  him  by  an  accommodating  casuist,  you 
would  not  see  a  single  Christian  afraid  of  death. 
But  you  know  it  well,  the  gospel  assures  you  of  it, 
and  the  dictates  of  your  own  consci/ence  confirm  the 
truth,  to  make  application, of  the  fruits  of  Christ's 
death  is  a  complication  of  duties,  w^hich  require  al» 
tention,  time,  labour,  intenseness  of  exertion,  and 
must  be  the  business  of  a  whole  life.  The  greatest 
part  of  those  who  bear  the  Christian  name  neglect 
this  work  while  in  health,  is  it  any  v^onder  that  they 
should  tremble  when  overtaken  by  the  hour  of 
death  ?  . 

Call  to  remembrance  the  three  ways  in  which 
Christ  has  disarmed  death.  He  has  spoiled  the  king 
of  terrors,  by  demonstrating  to  us  the  immortality 
of  the  soul,  by  making  atonement  for  our  transgres« 
sions,  by  acquiring  for  us  an  eternal  felicity* 

But  what  efiect  will  the  death  of  Christ  have  upon 
us,  as  a  proof  of  the  doctrine  of  the  immortality  of 
the  soul,  unless  we  study  those  proofs,  unless  we  se- 
riously meditate  upon  them,  unless  we  endeavour  to 
feel  their  torce,  unless  Y»'e  guard  against  the  diflicul- 

"•2  ties 


S5G  On  the  Fear  of  Death. 

ties  which  the  unhappy  age  we  live  in  opposes  to 
those  great  principles? 

What  effect  can  the  death  of  Christ  have  upon  us, 
as  a  sacrifice  offered  up  to  divine  justice  for  our  sins, 
unless  we  feel  the  plenitude  of  that  sacrifice,  unless 
we  make  application  of  it  to  the  conscience,  unless 
we  present  it  to  God  in  the  exercises  of  a  living 
faith  ;  above  all,  unless  by  the  constant  study  of 
ourselves,  unless  by  unremitting,  by  persevering  ex- 
ertion, we  place  ourselves  under  the  terms,  and  invest 
ourselves  with  the  characters  of  those  who  have  a  right 
to  apply  to  themselves  the  fruits  of  this  sacrifice  ? 

What  effect  can  the  death  of  Christ  produce  upon 
us,  considered  as  the  pledge  of  a  blessed  eternity, 
unless  the  soul  be  powerfully  impressed  with  that 
eternity,  unless  the  heart  be  penetrated  with  a  sense 
of  what  it  is  ;  if  we  are  at  pains  to  efface  the  impres- 
sion which  those  interesting  objects  may  have  made 
upon  us;  if  hardly  moved  by  those  great  truths 
which  ought  ta  take  eniire  possession  of  the  mind, 
we  instantly  plunge  ourselves  into  the  vortex  of 
worldly  pursuits,  without  taking  time  to  avail  our- 
selves of  that  happy  disposition,  and,  as  it  were,  pur- 
p:)sely  to  withdraw  from  those  gracious  emotions 
which  seemed  to  have  laid  hold  of  us  ?  Ah  I  my 
brethren,  if  such  be  the  conduct  of  the  generality  of 
professing  Christians,  as  we  are  under  the  necessity 
of  admitting,  when,  not  satisfied  with  observing  their 
deportment  in  tbe  house  of  God,  and  from  a  pulpit, 
we  follow  them  into  life,  and  look  through  those 
ilimsy  veils  of  piety  and  devotion  which  ihey  had  as- 
sumed for  an  hour  in  a  worshipping  assembly ;  if  such, 
1  say,  be  the  conduct  of  the  generahty  of  professing 
Christians,  their  terror  at  the  approach  of  death  ex- 
hibits nothing  to  excite  astonishment. 

The  grand  conclusion  to  be  deduced,  my  breth- 
ren,, from  all  these  reflections,- is  not  an  abstract  con- 

clasioi^ 


On  the  Fear  of  Death.  357 

clnsion  and  of  difBcult  comprehension  :  it  is  a  con- 
clusion easy,  natural,  and  which  would  spontane- 
ously present  itself  to  the  mind,  were  we  not  dis- 
posed to  practise  deception  upon  ourselves ;  the 
grand  conclusion  to  be  deduced  from  these  reflec- 
tions is  this :  If  we  wish  to  die  like  Christians,  we 
must  live  Hke  Christians.  If  we  would  wish  to  be- 
hold with  firmness  the  dissolution  of  this  body,  we 
must  study  the  proofs  which  establish  the  truth  of 
the  immortality  of  the  soul,  so  as  to  be  able  to  say 
with  St  Paul,  *'  I  know  whom  I  have  beheved,  and  I 
am  persuaded  he  is  able  to  keep  that  which  I  have 
committed  unto  him  against  that  day,"  2  Tim.  i.  12. 
Would  we  wish  to  have  a  security  against  fear  at  that 
tremendous  tribunal,  before  V7hich  we  must  appear  to 
receive  judgment,  vi^e  must  enter  into  the  conditions 
of  the  covenant  of  grace,  that  we  may  be  able  to 
say  with  the  same  apostle,  "  I  am  the  chief  of  sinners, 
a  blasphemer,  and  a  persecutor,  and  injurious :  but  I 
obtained  mercy,"  1  Tim.  i.  13.  Would  we  be 
strengthened  to  resign,  without  murmuring,  all  the 
objects  around  us,  and  to  which  we  are  so  fondly  at- 
tached, we  must  learn  to  disengage  ourselves  from 
them  betimes ;  to  place  our  heart  betimes  where  oztr 
treasure  is^  Mat.  vi.  21.  that  we  may  be  able  to 
say  with  the  Psalmist,  "  Whom  have  1  in  heaven  but 
thee  ?  and  there  is  none  upon  earth  that  I  desire  be- 
sides thee,"  Ps.  ixxiii.  25. 

If  after  we  have  exerted  our  utmost  efforts,  we 
still  find  our  frail  flesh  and  blood  complaining  at  the 
prospect  of  approaching  dissolution  ;  if  the  heart 
still  repines  at  the  hard  necessity  imposed  upon  us  of 
dying  ;  let  us  strive  to  recover  confidence,  not  only 
against  this  apprehension,  but  likewise  against  the 
doubts  which  it  might  excite  respecting  our  salva- 
tion. This  fear  of  death  is,  in  such  a  case,  not  a 
crime,  but  an  infirmity.  It  is  indeed  a  m.elancholy 
proof  that  we  are  not  yet  perfect,  but  it  is  not  a  blot 
which  obliterates  our  Christianity.     It  is  an  expres- 

:.icii 


55S  On  the  Fear  of  DeaiJL 

Hon  of  timidity,  not  of  mistrust.  It  is  a  calamity 
•which  prevents  our  enjoying  all  the  sweets  of  a  tri- 
umphant death,  but  not  an  obstacle  to  prevent  our 
dying  in  safety.  Let  us  be  of  good  courage.  What 
have  we  to  fear  ?  God  is  an  affectionate  friend,  who 
will  not  desert  us  in  the  hour  of  adversity.  God  is 
not  a  cruel  being,  who  takes  pleasure  in  rendering  us 
miserable.  He  is  a  God  whose  leading  characters  are 
goodness  and  mercy.  He  stands  engaged  to  render 
us  happy.  Let  us  not  distrust  his  promise  ;  it  has 
been  ratified  by  the  most  august  seal  which  suspicion 
itself  could  exact,  by  the  blood  of  the  spotless  Lamb, 
which  is  sprinkled,  not  on  the  threshold  of  our  doors, 
but  on  our  inmost  conscience.  The  exterminating 
angel  will  respect  that  blood,  will  presume  to  aim  no 
stroke  at  the  soul  which  bears  the  mark  of  it. 

After  all,  my  dearly  beloved  brethren,  if  the  most 
advanced  Christians,  at  the  first  glimpse  of  death,  and 
in  the  first  moments  of  a  mortal  distemper,  are  unable 
to  screen  themselves  from  the  fear  of  death  ;  if  the 
iiesh  murmurs,  if  nature  complains,  if  faith  itself 
seems  to  stagger  ;  reason,  religion,  but  especially  the 
aid  of  God's  spirit,  granted  to  the  prayers,  to  the  im- 
portunities ascending  to  heaven  from  the  lips  of  such 
a  Christian,  dissipate  all  those  terrors.  The  mighty 
God  suffers  himself  to  be  overcome,  when  assailed  by 
supplication  and  tears.  God  resists  not  the  sighs  of  a 
believer,  who  from  his  bed  of  languishing  stretches 
out  his  arms  toward  him,  who  intreats  him  to  sanctify 
the  sufferings  which  he  endures,  who  implores  his 
support  in  the  agonies  of  death,  Vvho  cries  out  from 
the  centre  of  a  soul  transported  with  holy  confidence  : 
"-  Into  thine  hand  I  commit  my  spirit :  thou  hast  re- 
deemed me,  O  Lord  God  of  truth,"  Ps.  xxxi.  5.  Re- 
ceive it,  O  my  God.  Remove  from  me  those  phan- 
toms which  disturb  my  repose.  Raise  me  up,  take 
me  to  thyself.  "  Teach  my  hands  to  war,  and  my 
fingers  to  fight.  Draw  me,  I  shall  run  after  thee." 
Kindle  my  devotion ;   and  let  my  enflamed  desires 

2  serve 


On  the  Fear  of  Death  359 

serve  as  a  chariot  of  fire  to  transport  me  to  heaven. 
The  clouds  thickened  around  me  by  him  x(oho  had  the 
pozoer  of  death  are  scattering ;  the  vail  which  covered 
eternity  insensibly  withdraws  :  the  understanding  is 
convinced  ;  the  heart  melts ;  the  flame  of  love  burns 
bright;  the  return  of  holy  meditations,  which  for- 
merly occupied  the  soul,  disclose  the  grand  object  of 
rehgion,  and  the  bed  of  death  is  transformed  into  a 
field  of  victory.  Many  of  your  pastors,  Christians, 
have  been  the  joyful  spectators  of  such  a  triumph. 

May  all  who  hear  m^  this  day  be  partakers  of 
these  divine  consolations  I  May  that  invaluable  sa- 
crifice which  Jesus  Christ  offered  up  to  his  Father  in 
our  behalf,  by  cleansing  us  from  all  our  guilt,  deliver 
us  from  all  our  fears !  May  this  great  High- priest  of 
the  new  covenant  bear  engraven  on  his  breast  all 
these  mystical  Israelites,  now  that  he  is  entered  into 
the  hohest  of  all  I  And  when  these  foundations  of 
sand,  on  which  this  clay-tabernacle  rests,  shall  crum- 
ble away  from  under  our  feet,  may  we  ail  be  enabled 
to  raise  our  departing  spirits  out  of  the  ruins  of  the 
world,  that  they  may  repose  in  the  mansions  of  im- 
mortality I  Happy,  beyond  expression,  beyond  con- 
ception happy,  to  die  in  such  sentiments  as  these  I 
God  of  his  infinite  mercy  grant  it  may  be  our  blessed 
attainment  I  To  him  be  honour  and  glory  for  ever. 
Amen. 


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